


Emeralds and Sparrows

by Gojiratheking106



Series: Changes and Second Chances [2]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alador Blight is trying (tm), Alador is the better parent, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, I mean it IS the Blights what did y'all expect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Looks like there IS going to be Lumity after all, Odalia Blight Being an Asshole, That Isn't Saying Much, maybe more angst than fluff tbh, nothing too heavy tho, woops Vinera found its way in, yes half my original creatures are gonna be dinosaurs with a coat of fantasy paint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 74,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26678305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gojiratheking106/pseuds/Gojiratheking106
Summary: It's been two weeks since Eda's rescue. In the meantime, over at the Blight household, Amity works up the courage to take a stand against her parents.Unfortunately, the subsequent arguments are enough to force her out of the house more days than not. On the flip side, however, the Owl House will always have its door open to her-And everyone's favorite Clawthorne will always find a way to meddle.
Relationships: Alador Blight & Amity Blight & Odalia Blight, Alador Blight & Eda Clawthorne, Amity Blight & Eda Clawthorne, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Emira Blight/Viney
Series: Changes and Second Chances [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941220
Comments: 327
Kudos: 841





	1. The Owlet and the Sparrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Looks like this fandom has taken me full force and ain't letting go so here's another fic! I'd recommend reading Remorse of a Witch first since this is set in the same continuity and I may reference its events from time to time. Hope you guys like it!

“The Green Mean is here, hooot!”

Luz jumped with a yelp, her Azura book falling on her room’s floor, luckily for her Luz landed on her ‘bed’. “Hooty, how many times do I have to tell you?! Personal space!” The human got up, gently shoving the bird tube thing away. “Wait, Green Mean? You mean Amity?!” The girl’s expression changed to a wide smile, she was beaming. But that only lasted a few seconds, her face changing to one of concern. “Wait, we didn’t agree to meet during class… So that means… oh no.”

Luz quickly rushed out of her room and went downstairs. The usual chaos filled the air, with Eda fighting off what Luz assumed was dinner while Lilith desperately tried to keep King out of harm’s way. It had barely been a couple of weeks but the older Clawthorne was adapting pretty well to the house’s shenanigans.

Luz opened the door, hoping this would be just a surprise visit, but what she saw confirmed her worries. Amity’s hair looked somewhat messy, her eyes red from crying recently. “Hi Amity.”

The witch slowly nodded. Yep, that was the signal. Something was wrong. Luz nodded inside, allowing the witch to come in, and looked at the kitchen’s general direction. “Eda! Amity’s here, we’ll be in my room!”

A hiss, some crashes and the sound of a small explosion later, Eda answered. “Aight kid! Dinner will be ready in about three!” Another hiss and a loud thud “Okay now two hours tops!”

Luz sighed and turned to Amity, then nodded in her room’s direction. The Blight nodded back, blushing ever so slightly, and both went upstairs to Luz’s room. Meanwhile, Eda had actually managed to kill the food. The Owl Lady dropped her staff with a sigh as a purple, two headed octopus with claws finally stopped moving.

“I told Meg I did _not_ want it fresh!” She yelled, then dropped down on a chair. Lilith finally let go of King, who complained with a loud “weh!” before approaching the octopus. Eda stopped him. “I haven’t spent a whole hour fighting this thing for you to eat it raw.”

“The King of Demons doesn’t need cooking!” King complained.

“Last time you said that you spent an entire day hugging the toilet”

Lilith shuddered at the thought, and looked outside the kitchen. “I see the younger Blight child has come again.” She said, trying to change the topic of the conversation. “And I am afraid she’s not here to… hang out.”

Eda let out a sigh, summoning a cup of apple juice, only to chug it down in one go. Lilith winced. “Yeah, that kid’s starting to worry me. This is like, what, the third time she comes this week? And it’s _Thursday._ ”

Lilith simply nodded. “I know the Blights all too well. The pressure they put that child under can be… overwhelming.”

Eda nodded. “Yeah. Something tells me there’s something else than pressure though. Something deeper.” She sighed, summoning even more apple blood. “I worry for that kid.”

Lilith snorted. “Edalyn the Owl Lady is turning into a fully fledged mom, huh?”

Eda shot her a death glare. “Oh shut it, I’m just worried about a kid, that’s all.”

“Yeah, that’s why you almost called Luz your daughter when I came here, right?” Eda choked on her drink, causing Lilith to burst out laughing.

“Do I need to remind you who has magical powers here?”

“She’s got you there.” King said to the youngest Clawthorne, but he quickly scattered after the murderous look Eda gave him. Of course they were right, but no way was Eda ever going to admit it.

* * *

“Are you sure no one will hear us here?” Both Amity and Luz were kneeling on top of Luz’s “bed”, which consisted of a sleeping bag and some pillows.

“Don’t worry Am, Eda and Lilith are trying to cook and King is probably gonna try to steal some of the food. It’s just you and me.” The human gave Amity a reassuring smile, which combined with that last line would’ve given the witch a heart attack under normal circumstances. But these weren’t normal circumstances. “And before you ask, Hooty is not gonna bother us either. He learnt his lesson after Grom day.”

Amity couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at that comment, then sighed. “Alright then.”

“So, who was it this time?”

Amity scoffed, a flicker of anger appearing in her eyes. “My mother, who else? She always gets so controlling and angry at anything I do and-” She felt a hand on her shoulder, and saw Luz’s concerned look. ‘Focus’. 

The Blight took another deep breath. “I was at Ed and Em’s room, talking about whatever, just killing time. I mentioned something about my hair and wanting to go back to my natural color.” She said, playing around with her teal hair. “She heard. I-I don’t know how but she heard. When we went back downstairs for lunch she gave me that look of hers of silent rage. She told me to sit down and then started talking about status, about how Blights are always green-haired, about brunette being a peasant’s hair, about being color coordinated with the twins and I just-”

She felt a knot forming in her throat. Luz gently squeezed her shoulder and Amity almost lifted her hand to touch the human’s before realizing it was _Luz Noceda_ ’s hand and she’d probably die if their hands touched like that. So she took another deep breath and continued.

“I snapped. I told her off, I said I hated the hair, that I hated her and… I don’t even know. I ran off before my mother could react but she was furious. I think I heard the twins somehow calm her down, otherwise I would’ve been grounded for life.”

A few seconds of silence. Not an awkward silence, but rather a comfortable silence, one of reassurance and comprehension. Amity could feel her anger slowly dissipate as she took in the peace in the room. Then the floodgates opened, all her bottled up emotions finally breaking free with a cry.

Luz quickly pulled her in a hug, lightly patting her back as the witchling bawled her eyes out on the human’s shoulder. “That’s right, just… let it out.” Luz let out a light sigh, she knew very well how that felt, just letting her emotions run wild. Constant rejection and bullying will do that to a person, but she could never imagine she’d see this caused by parents of all things.

Eventually Amity started to calm down, her cries turning into light hiccups and finally, silence. The two stayed in that hug for a few more seconds, before Amity realized that she had been _hugging THE Luz Noceda for like ten minutes straight_ and quickly broke their embrace, cheeks bright red. “T-thanks, Luz. For everything.” She managed to say.

“Hey, no problem!” Luz gave Amity a light punch on the shoulder with a smile. “That’s what friends are for, right?” Amity could have sworn the human’s voice sounded strained when she said ‘friends’, like it had some deeper meaning hidden but quickly discarded that thought, it was probably just her imagining things.

“Soooo…” Luz said, taking her phone. “What do you say to watching the Azura anime?” The girl suggested, dangling the device in front of Amity.

“Wait, today was the new episode?!”

* * *

Alador Blight sighed, sinking into his couch, eyes fixed on the newspaper while his wife paced back and forth in front of him, ranting about their youngest. Again. Odalia had been at it for around an hour now, complaining about today’s youths, about their daughter losing her discipline, about how severely she’ll punish her when she shows up again....

“Can you believe it?! Seven years! Seven years, showing off that absolutely immaculate Blight green and now she wants to go back to that… Excuse of a hair color!” Alador winced, that was HIS hair color. “And not only that, she was a perfect match with her siblings! They looked like true Blights!”

Alador scoffed “It’s not even the same shade of green” He whispered, his eyes reading the local news until a sentence froze his blood for a second.

“What was that, my dear?”

Oh no, he was _not_ having a fight about green tones. “Nothing, apparently the Emperor's Coven has failed yet again to capture the Owl Lady. It’s such a disgrace.” He looked up at his wife, who gave him a very suspicious look. 

“Are you even paying attention to what I am saying? Our daughter is turning into a feral madwoman! Think about our reputation!”

Alador let a faint grunt escape his throat. He really was going to argue with his wife about their children’s hair colors, wasn’t he? He sighed and lowered the newspaper, his wife’s piercing golden eyes staring into his very soul. “Odalia, my dearest, with all due respect, I think you’re overreacting”

Odalia’s eyes widened in shock and she let out an audible gasp, but was cut off before she could say anything. “Amity is 14, she’s going through a rebellious phase like every teenager does. She’ll come around eventually.”

The Blight matriarch’s left eye twitched. Oh no. “Like every teenager, huh?” The woman said, with a disturbingly calm tone. She suddenly slammed her fist on a nearby table, causing Alador to jump on his seat. “Our daughter is NOT every teenager!” She yelled, face turning red in anger. “She is a Blight! She can’t have any weaknesses, or imperfections, for we are the highest family of the entire Boiling Isles! A Blight does not have a ‘rebellious phase’ ” She added, mockingly.

And so she continued trailing off about societal standards, about how they were above the common filth that plagued the streets and just general ego boosting along with complaints about Amity being corrupted by her classmates, even going as far as saying that common folk shouldn’t be allowed in Hexside at all.

Alador sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Oh, he was so tired. “Honey, as much as I’d love to discuss our daughter’s... education.” He got up, winning a glance from his wife. “I’m afraid I have some paperwork to finish, if you need me I’ll be in my studio.” And with that, Alador Blight, the head of the Abomination’s Coven and patriarch of the most influential family of the Boiling Isles, speed walked out of the room before his wife could commit a homicide.

He closed the gates of the room, muffled yelling behind him, and sighed. He saw the twins peeking out of their bedrooms out of the corner of his eye but ignored them, heading to the stairs and getting to the lower floor. He then entered his private studio, locking the door behind him just in case. Alador sighed again, and walked over to his desk before sinking on his chair.

Now he _didn’t_ have any paperwork to do, but just sitting alone with his thoughts was much better than hearing his wife rambling about their daughter going back to her natural hair color being the end of their dynasty. He chuckled a bit, oh if she only knew the kind of ruckus the twins caused on a weekly basis, she’d have a cardiac arrest.

He sighed fondly, they definitely got that from him. He still remembered his days at Hexside, back when he was Alador Fongerhorn. Everyone knew about Edalyn Clawthorne’s various mishaps and pranks, but what no one knew was who provided her with the resources and intel to pull off the most elaborate ones. Maybe if Bump hadn’t been desperately trying to control the whole Abomination uprising situation, he would’ve noticed most abominations had Alador’s signature four arms.

A nostalgic smile slowly grew on his face. Those were the days, before his parents decided marrying him with the Blight heir would be the best for their societal status. “So much has changed since then, hasn’t it?” He whispered to no one in particular, before deciding to open the newspaper again and continue reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for the first chapter! Some of you may disagree with me on Alador being a somewhat decent person from time to time but I think that makes him more interesting lol. Hope you guys liked it, leave a kudo if you did!


	2. Dinner

“I would have followed you, my brother… My captain… My  _ king _ .”

Luz had decided she’d show Amity some other human media after they were done with Azura, and she had decided giving The Lord of the Rings a try since, hey, it was a fantasy movie and they were in a magical fantasy world. But dang it she had forgotten about how hard the movie hit some times, and she could already feel a knot forming in her throat as she stared at the scene unfolding in her phone.

Meanwhile Amity was… Lost in the film. She had accepted watching the movie because if Luz liked it then surely it must be one of the greatest pieces of media ever created and so far it didn’t disappoint, the young witch had been staring at the tiny phone screen in complete silence for nearly three hours. And now she was staring with her mouth open at the man’s sacrifice, completely entranced by the dialogue.

“Kids! Dinner’s ready!” Eda’s voice snapped her out of her trance. Luz groaned and paused the movie just as Aragorn gave his farewell to his fallen comrade. “Just five more mins!”

However, she noticed Amity was already standing up and ready to head downstairs, giving the young human a puzzled look. “Luz, we can’t be late for dinner.”

“It’s fine, Eda doesn’t mind! I bet she called us because King has already started instead of waiting for anyone else.”

The witchling looked at Luz, then at the door. “B-but dinner’s ready…” And that was the moment Luz saw it. Amity’s eyes looked lost, scared. Like when she talked about her parents. She quickly put two and two together, and realized the Blights must have forced their children to always be on time for absolutely everything, and she did not want to think of the consequences the kids faced when they didn’t comply. Amity wasn’t used to saying ‘just five more minutes’.

“Well then we don’t have to keep Eda waiting!” She blurted out, quickly getting up with an awkward smile. She didn’t want Amity to feel awkward or guilty over watching a movie. “Plus we can finish it after dinner.”

“Luz, we haven’t asked her if I can stay yet.”

“Oh trust me she really won’t mind, I’ve had Gus and Willow stay over unprompted a few times.” Luz gave her a reassuring smile which made Amity’s heart skip a beat and nodded towards the door. Amity already knew the protocol for dinner: the others would be seated quietly until the two teens sit down, then everyone would enjoy their meal in silence until Eda (or at least she supposed Eda would take her mother’s place in this scenario) wanted to ask something about their day, or scold them over some mistake.

When they got to the kitchen however, the scene could not be more different than what she’d expected. King was standing on the table, happily tearing into what looked like a purple stew of some kind. Eda was sitting on one end of the table, casually chugging what must have been her fourth glass of apple juice in five minutes while giving her sister, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table, a smug grin. Lilith was staring at Eda completely dumbfounded.

“How?!” The raven-haired witch yelled. “How are you still conscious?!”

“Because unlike you, Lily, I can actually stomach this stuff.” The Owl Lady answered after finishing the glass with another smug grin. “Now that’s the sixth full glass in three minutes, wasn’t it? Hand over the snails, sister.”

Lilith mumbled something, getting 20 snails out of her pocket and sliding them across the table. Eda snorted and took the money, then turned to the two teens. “Luz coming the second I tell her? Dang, this Blight kid is a keeper.” 

Amity felt her entire face turn red with the comment and tried to say something to no avail, gaining a sly grin from Eda. Oh no, she  _ knew _ . “Anyways, since King’s taking up an entire side of the table with his mess.” Eda gave King a death glare, who was too busy rolling across the left side of the table trying to kill the food again to notice, then pointed at a pair of plates next to each other with her thumb. “You’re gonna be kinda tight. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“I-it’s fine, Ms. Clawthorne” Amity managed to say, still recovering from the tease that felt like an elbow to the ribs, and quickly walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. Meanwhile, Luz had already rushed over to the food and was happily munching on the food.

“Honestly I’m too scared to ask what this is but it’s tasty!” The human gleefully said. “Your cooking’s great!”

Eda chuckled, pretending to be embarrassed. “Oh kid please, you flatter me! But yeah, of course it is.” 

“Oh please, this is just the pieces she didn’t turn into ashes.” Lilith snarled with a teasing smirk, winning a glare from Eda.

“Hey! You know my magic is still kinda wild. You know, still recovering from the curse you gave me and all.”

Amity choked on her bite, and quickly downed half of her water to avoid a coughing fit. It was way too perfect, no dinner went by peacefully at home, why would it here?

“Hey, at least you can still do magic!” Lilith cried back, and Eda shrugged. “Eh, I guess that’s fair."

The Blight kid’s eyes went wide with surprise. That was it? No insulting, no threatening, nothing? Just… childish banter between two adults? For her entire life dinner time had been one of the most tense moments of the day, with her mother trying to dig up any possible mistake or flaw she or her brothers had made through the day, with that false kindness and cold, analytical tone. Her father would usually stay out of conversations, always absent minded, and when he did say something it’d usually be some kind of mumbling that gained a silent death glare from her mother.

“By the way, since it’s getting kinda late…” Luz’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts “...can Amity maybe stay over tonight?”

The Blight’s blood froze as the adult witch looked at her apprentice, and then at Amity. “Do you parents know you’re here?”

“N-no Ms. Clawthorne, I asked my siblings to cover for me. T-they’ll probably say I'm at the library hideout, s-studying for a test.”

Eda stared at her for what felt like entire millenia, although it was probably just a few seconds. Then she shrugged “Well I’d usually want a kid’s parents to know they’re here but knowing your parents that’s probably for the best. Also, for Titan’s sake just call me Eda.” The Owl Lady then gave her a smile. “I’ll set up somewhere to sleep later. We got no spare rooms tho, so you’re sharing room with Luz.” Eda grinned and took a sip of apple blood. “Try to keep it kid-friendly you two, okay?"

Amity felt her brain shutdown with Eda’s comment, that woman would be the end of her. Although that was probably for the best, that way she didn’t notice the way Luz choked on her food and spent around two minutes desperately gasping for air.

* * *

Emira and Edric silently sat down at the table, their two parents already on their seats, waiting for their children. The food had already been served, highly luxurious meals carefully served on several silver platters filled the expensive white tablecloth. The four Blights stayed there in silence for a few minutes before Odalia looked at the twins.

“Edric, Emira, where is your younger sister?”

The twins’ hearts skipped a bit almost in unison, and a quick glance was enough to decide that Emira would be the one that spoke.

“She’s at the library, mother. She told us there’s a highly important test soon so she took some snails to buy food. I’m assuming she might stay there like some other nights.”

The teen held her breath, waiting for her mother’s response. Odalia’s eyes were cold and analytical, as she carefully inspected the twins for a few seconds before slowly nodding. “Very well. Her grades have been quite disappointing as of late, I do hope she’s applying herself again.” The woman took a bite from her meal. “I wouldn’t want to… have another talk about her friends again.”

An awkward silence hung on the air, the two twins had gone pale with the threat. They knew how losing Willow affected Amity, they couldn’t let her little sister go through that again. And they definitely couldn’t let her lose Luz.

“That kid is going to study herself to death.” Alador mumbled under his breath, taking a bite. 

“What was that, dear?”

Alador choked on his bite and barely managed to subdue his coughing fit into two gentle coughs and clearing his throat. “I said,” He replied, looking at his wife. “I doubt it’s her social circle’s fault.”

Mrs. Blight eyed him for a second, an eyebrow raised. “Oh? Is that so?” Alador felt a chill running down his spine and  _ dang it he wasn’t going to let his wife of all things terrify him. _

“Indeed. I do believe she has been playing that game again… How was it called, Grudgby?” He looked at the twins, who gave him a quick nod. Alador nodded back, and looked at his wife. Now, of course he knew what Grudgby was, he  _ was _ friends with both Hexside’s captain and best player when he was a teenager, but there was no need for Odalia to know that.

“Is that so?” Odalia asked at her children, both nodded again. “Very well. In that case she shall abandon such a foolish waste of time and focus on her studies.” 

“I shall deal with that talk, I think it’s about time I give that kid a stern talk.” Alador said, although there was another reason for that. Odalia gave him a glare,causing Alador’s heart to skip a beat. 

“In that case, you shall speak to her about that foolish tantrum involving her hair too. I’m sure she’ll be more willing to listen to reason that way, given she inherited her hair from you.” The venom on the woman’s voice was not lost to Alador, who briefly winced before nodding.

“Very well, I… shall mention that topic to her as well.” Alador briefly looked at the twins. The pair had grown paler, and they were staring at their father with a mix of fear and… surprise. The three shared a concerned look for a couple of seconds before Odalia broke the silence again. Edric and Emira then realized, did their father just show a hint of emotion? And it was shared with his children?!

“Good.” The matriarch of the Blight family looked at the other three for a moment. “Well, if that’s settled, carry on with dinner.”

The twins nodded and shared a concerned look for a brief second before finally starting to eat. The Blight parents simply looked at each other for a few moments until Alador sighed, breaking eye contact and continuing with his meal. Odalia smirked victorious, she still had them all under her control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amity is a gay disaster and oh is Eda gonna take advantage of that. I dunno when the next chapter will be uploaded because college can be a nightmare with its schedules but I hope I can keep a weekly upload schedule! Once again, leave a kudo if you liked it!


	3. Talks

The rest of the night had gone by in a flash as the two girls finished off the film and then proceeded to watch the sequel, then they stayed up for another while just talking about whatever, taking advantage of the rather late notice of Hexside being closed the following day, something about a cockatrice thinking the bell was a mating call and building a nest right on the hall.

Amity sighed fondly, how much had she wished that night would have lasted for longer, but alas she didn’t know any time spells. Yet. And so there she stood, before the gigantic gates of the Blight manor. Home. Or at least it used to be home, now she wasn’t quite sure if she felt at home there.

She walked up the stone path that crossed the garden, reaching the actual entrance, just as big as the one closing the estate, although these were made of solid wood instead of black iron bars. The young Blight took a deep breath and opened the door. The hall was fairly empty, walls adorned with generations of family paintings and a giant candelabrum hanging from the roof.

And right in the middle of the hall, her father. Oh no. The man stood tall, arms crossed in front of his chest and a stern look locked into his daughter. His frown signaled anger, but his eyes had a different shine to it. Worry? Boredom? Amity could never tell.

“I see you’ve finally returned from your studying session.” Alador raised an eyebrow, and Amity nodded.

“Yes father, I have a highly important test in the coming weeks a-”

Alador dismissed her with the wave of his hand. Amity quickly shut up, tensing up even more. “Yes, yes, I know. Your siblings told us yesterday.” He took a step closer. “I am glad to hear you’ve dedicated yourself again to your studies, young lady.”  _ But please don’t overwork yourself _ he had wanted to add. “Your mother has been worried about your… recent grades.”

Amity gulped, she had gotten a plain A in her latest Coven History test as opposed to her usual A+. It was still the best of her class, but it wasn’t enough for a Blight. It never was.

“She had even suggested you’re being distracted by your friends.” Amity felt her heart stop and her entire world slow down. No, this wasn’t happening again. This couldn’t be happening again, they weren’t going to take Willow away from her again. They weren’t going to take  _ Luz  _ away. They couldn’t.

“H-however…” Her father’s voice broke her off of her trance. Wait, was he stuttering? And why did it feel like he was trying to correct himself? “I heavily doubt this is the case, and after careful consideration with your mother, we’ve decided you shall abandon that foolish game you’ve retaken recently… Grugdby, if I’m not mistaken.”

Amity could almost feel her soul leave her body. Literally. Was that really what this was all about? Her playing Grugdby? Wait, holding onto that line of thought… “But I’ve-”  _...only played once this season,  _ she tried to say.

“But nothing. You shall abandon such petty fixations and focus on what is truly important. You are a top student, not a sportswoman” Alador interrupted, and he raised his voice. “You’re a Blight, so show that with pride for those are your true colors. Understood?”

Amity could’ve sworn her father threw a quick glance upstairs when he said that last line about being a Blight, almost as if making sure he was being heard, but she quickly dismissed that thought. “Yes father, understood.”

“Very well, you’re dismissed then.” Amity quickly nodded and walked towards the stairs, but quickly froze up “Oh, and one more thing.” The girl turned around to look at her father. His voice was suddenly much lower, as if he was avoiding being heard. “Your mother takes the Blight image very seriously, so I advise you not to mention your hair, lest she punishes you. Severely. Understood?”

Once again, Amity nodded. “Good, then you’re dismissed.” The girl turned around and quickly walked up the stairs, leaving Alador by himself. The man let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, then took a step to his studio’s direction when he felt a pair of eyes staring at him.

He looked up the stairs, expecting Odalia’s ever vigilant stare, but found nothing. She wasn’t there physically, but he still always felt his wife’s presence in the house, always watching their every move, like a bird of prey. Alador felt a cold sweat run down his neck, he hadn’t felt like this about his wife since their first days of marriage, why was this coming back now? Was this because he was covering for Amity and the twins more frequently?

The man shook those thoughts away and climbed up the stairs, heading for his room. Their room. He opened the door, and saw Odalia sitting on a couch on a corner of the room, right in front of their bed. She was reading a book, a cup of wine firmly in her grasp. She lifted her gaze, looking at her husband. “I assume you have spoken to Amity?”

Alador simply nodded, sitting on the bed with a tired sigh. “I have indeed.”

“So?”

“I have barred her from ever playing those foolish sports again. She took it fairly well and promised not to partake on such distractions anymore.” He looked at Odalia, seeing her inquisitive eyes. Oh right, he was supposed to mention that other thing too. “I have also told her not to ever mention the issue about her hair color again, much less even dare to change it, lest the consequences be dire. She had no complaints, as I expected.” 

Odalia grinned and gave him a nod. “Good, thank the Titan you were right, dear. I wouldn’t bear to see our Amity turn into one of those wild rascals that plague the streets. Or worse.” Alador simply nodded.

* * *

Amity closed the door of her room behind her, fists shaking. She could feel her head going a thousand miles per minute, and her breath was shaky. She quickly rushed to her bed and laid down, pressing her face against her pillow and let out a muffled scream, which was quickly followed by sobbing. The sheer implication of her mother messing with her friends again had been so overwhelming the only reason she had kept her composure was because breaking down in front of her father was probably even worse.

She still remembered the day her parents made her cut ties with Willow, how the girl had left her room crying, how she had cried herself to sleep that night, how much she had hated her new handpicked “friends”. Well, not Skara, that girl was almost as much of a chaotic dork as Luz. Almost.

Luz… The mere thought of having her ripped out of her life forever by her parents made her heart shatter. She couldn’t let that happen, they couldn’t do that to the human. Suddenly, a knock on her door interrupted her thoughts and she could feel her heart skip a beat in fear.

“Mittens?” Edric’s voice. The youngest Blight let out a relieved sigh and wiped her eyes.

“What do you want, Ed?” She saw the door of her room slowly opening up, the twins’ heads peeking in her room.

“We heard you and dad talking a-” Edric explained, but quickly stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the absolute mess that was Amity’s face. The older siblings quickly jumped in, practically pouncing at her bed, and first thing Amity knew both Edric and Emira were sitting with her.

“Oh my Titan Amity, are you okay? What happened?!” Emira asked with an uncharacteristically concerned tone.

“Did he say something bad?” Edric asked, then he let out a gasp. “Have they found out about Luz?” He whispered. Emira shot him a glare, but Amity was quick to shake her head. 

“No, it’s okay. He just… hit a nerve, I think he didn’t mean it.”

“You sure?” Emira asked, gently rubbing her little sister’s back.

“Yeah, you can tell us. No blackmail from this, we promise!” Edric said, raising his hand as if swearing an oath. Amity chuckled and slowly nodded. The three of them then just sat there in silence, until Emira finally spoke.

“Sooo… How was the ‘studying session’, Mittens?” She asked with a grin, doing air quotes when she said “studying session”. Amity glared at her, red slowly rising on her cheeks. Emira then drew a spell circle, shutting the door of the room. “Had fun with our little mutual friend? Or were you too busy being a blushing mess, Amity Blush?”

The 14 year old gasped, and gave her sister a shove. “Nothing happened, we’re just friends!”. Amity looked angry, but she was actually somewhat grateful, she really needed something to take her mind off what had happened.

“Hey, I’m just saying! It’s a miracle Luz hasn’t caught on yet, you aren’t that subtle, Mittens.” Emira replied with a laugh.

“Like you’re any better with Viney.” Edric’s voice made both girls raise their heads in disbelief.

“Wait, you and the multi-track girl?! No way!” Amity said in disbelief looking at Edric, who had an incredibly smug grin on his face, and then at Emira, who had turned bright red. The older girl then let out what could only be described as an incoherent war screech as she outright pounced at her brother, who quickly dodged her attack in a fit of laughter.

“Ed I swear on the Titan and my own life I kill you!” She screamed enraged, chasing Edric around Amity’s room with a murderous shine in her eyes. The two kept up the chase for a bit, Edric summoning illusion obstacles once in a while to slow down her sister to no avail, until they were distracted by Amity’s laugh.

“You guys are unbelievable.” She managed to say between chuckles. “Now get out of my room before you break something.” The older Blights looked at each other with a grin, and moved towards the door.

“Alright, alright, we’ll leave you alone” Em said.

“Have fun summoning Luz-shaped abominations, Mittens!” Emira added, which caused the two of them to run out of the room, a book crashing against the door in the nick of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go! Alador trying to be an acceptable father figure! The twins trying to be good siblings! Odalia just... Being an utter ass. ANYWAYS, hope y'all liked this one!


	4. Responsabilites and abominations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before we start, two things: First, huge thanks to [StormySkiesAhead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormySkiesAhead/pseuds/StormySkiesAhead) and [levi2207](https://archiveofourown.org/users/levi2207/pseuds/levi2207) for introducing me to the sheer power of outlines. That's how this chapter got so long!  
> And second, college midterms are upon me so uuuh I may end up with a more irregular update schedule! Just letting y'all know.

“Alright class, let’s get started.” The diminutive witch said, arms comfortably resting on his abomination’s arms and tiny feet dangling on the air. Luz would never not find him hilarious. “Today you will practice on finer Abomination dexterity by having it write your name in increasingly smaller lettering. I know this can sound tedious, or pointless, but I assure you it’s of the utmost importance.”

Luz’s thoughts stopped dead on their tracks. Wait, did he say  _ practice _ ? She raised her hand. “Yes, Ms. Noceda?”

Luz felt a slight embarrassed blush rise on her cheeks and gave a shy smile. “I uh… Still haven’t figured out the abomination glyph.” The girl heard a few snickers around her, which made her quickly lower her hand and look down. She suddenly felt like she was back at her human school, kids laughing at her at any chance they got.

The teacher’s eyes widened for a moment and gave an awkward cough. “Of course, I had completely forgotten about your… situation, my apologies.” The man then scanned the room, until he found the only witch present not laughing at the human. “Ms. Blight, since I’m sure you’ve already mastered something like dexterity I’m sure you’d be able to help Ms. Noceda with her magic instead?”

The witch suddenly perked up at the mention of Luz. “Yes, I’ll help her!” She said, with a tone much more enthusiastic than she had intended. This was, of course, followed by a flash of red across her cheeks and a slight cough. The teacher simply raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Very well. Ms. Noceda, please sit down with Ms. Blight. As for the rest of the class, summon your abominations and get on with your training.”

The witchlings let out a collective groan as the abominations were summoned one by one. Meanwhile, Luz quickly grabbed her things and ran to Amity’s desk. She plopped her things down unceremoniously and sat down way too close for the witchling’s “comfort”.

“Hey Amity!” Luz cheerfully greeted, getting on her seat. “Thanks for giving me a hand!”

The teal-haired witch felt a blush quickly flash through her face again. “N-no problem!” Amity then sat awkwardly there for a second, completely lost in thought because why was Luz sitting so close to her their hands were almost touching oh Titan help her if she moved an inch they’d touch and that couldn’t happen because-

“Am? You okay there?” The human’s voice snapped her of her trance. “Y-yeah just… Trying to figure out a way to teach you abominations, yeah!”

Luz’s eyes went wide in surprise and she smacked her forehead. “Oh I’m so dumb! I didn’t tell you how I learnt the other glyphs!” Amity raised an eyebrow curiously. “Okay, so I think I’m gonna start with the basics. Can you summon an abomination real quick?"

Amity nodded and quickly drew a spell circle, a fairly average abomination emerging from the ground. She had wanted to ask what she had to do next, but first thing she knew the human had practically dived right into the gooey summoning, sticking her head into the purple clay. Amity let out a surprised yelp and barely managed to keep the abomination from dissolving right on her classmate, which gained quite a few looks from the other kids and the teacher.

“Is everything alright, Ms. Blight?” Amity made to speak, but Luz’s head emerged from the abomination and Titan damn it how did she manage to still look so utterly cute even when covered by purple clay?

“Yeah it’s alright! Just trying to see if there’s a glyph in here!” She then wiped some goo out of her eyes. “You wouldn’t happen to have any goggles or something?” The teacher simply rolled his eyes with a long sigh and drew a quick spell circle, a pair of protective goggles you’d find in a lab appearing in Luz’s hands.

And with a cheerful smile and a “thanks!”, Luz put on her goggles and sank her head back in. Amity simply rolled her eyes with a fond smile, and simply focused on keeping the abomination standing still for the rest of the class. And so, the next hour was spent with Luz repeatedly shoving her face in the purple goo from different spots and inspecting every single inch of the abomination’s body until the bell screamed its metaphorical lungs out.

“Any luck?” Managed to ask Amity. Luz sighed and shook her head side to side. “Nope! I think the glyph isn’t on the abomination.” Her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. “Maybe it’s in the spell circle? That’s how I figured out the light spell!” The human girl started to bounce in pure glee “You could come over later to the Owl House! Then I’ll be able to record you with my phone and see the glyph!”

Amity blushed again because  _ Luz would have a video recording of her and Titan help her _ “Y-yeah! Sounds good!” And so, Luz gave her a hug that definitely didn’t almost cause her a heart attack and cheerfully ran out of class, leaving Amity standing there like a shell-shocked veteran until the poor girl finally snapped back into reality and moved on with her morning.

And so, Amity’s classes slowly but surely passed one by one, and some hours later the last bell of the day screamed, signalling the end of the school day. She went to her locker and left some of her books before heading towards the Owl House. She sent Ed and Em a message explaining what they’d have to tell her parents in case they asked where she was. And so, she peacefully made her way through the forest, the calming sounds of the wilderness gently singing into her ears until…

“Hiya Luz’s friend! Hoot hoot!” And in that moment Amity was really glad Luz wasn’t around, because she did not want to see the human’s reaction to her jumping two feet into the air, ears pointing right to the sky and a scream so high pitched it’d make a dog howl in pain. After that, Amity gave Hooty a death glare that made him quickly retreat back to the door.

“You’re going to have to teach me that trick” Said a voice to her side, among the bushes. Amity turned to the forest, only to see Lilith carefully reveal herself, basket full of mushrooms in hand. “Greetings, Amity.”

The teen quickly straightened herself, trying to look as formal as possible. “Hello, Ms. Clawthorne”

Lilith simply chuckled. “Please, just call me Lilith. I’m not your mentor anymore, no need for formalities. I assume you’re here to see the hu- Luz, correct?” Amity simply nodded with a slight blush. “Unfortunately she’s off to help Edalyn with some market errands, but I think they will come back soon. Come, you can wait for them with me.” 

And with that, both witches made their way to the Owl House, where a very sleepy King greeted them with a groan from the windowsill before falling asleep. Lilith gently closed the door and looked at Amity. “I’m going to leave these mushrooms in the kitchen. Do you want anything?” The teen shook her head, then took a seat as her former mentor headed to the kitchen.

After a bit Lilith returned, mug with what looked like tea in her right hand, and sat on the large couch of the living room. “So, Amity?” The girl perked up at her name, and looked at the older witch. “What brings you here today?”

“Oh, nothing much really. Luz needed some help with abominations and she asked me to come over for practice.” Lilith hummed and took a sip of her drink, then the two stayed silent for a bit.

“So…” Lilith finally broke the silence. “Have your parents found you a new mentor yet? I am guessing they wouldn’t be too happy about me teaching you now after the whole… incident.” She sighed. “Not like I could teach you that much anymore…” The woman slouched, sadness visible in her eyes.

“No, they haven’t. Looks like the entire Emperor’s Coven is in chaos after our stunt.” Amity shot Lilith a small smile, a slight blush in her cheeks. “Besides, I doubt they’d find a teacher as great as you.”

Lilith looked at her through the corner of her eye and gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, Amity.” She straightened again, taking another sip of her drink. “I guess I could still help with the theory if you’d like.”

Amity nodded. “I would love that.”

“What about school?” Lilith turned on her seat, facing Amity. “The h- Luz keeps talking about how great you are doing.”

Amity’s eyes widened and her face turned bright red. “S-she does?!” She managed to squeak out, gaining a sly smirk from Lilith that felt way too out of place in her usually serious face. Amity took a deep breath and forced her blush down, or at least tried to. “Y-yeah, I’m doing my best. Although…” Lilith raised an eyebrow. “I may have been slipping up lately…”

“Well it’s to be expected, these last weeks have taken a toll on all of us.”

Amity simply sat there. Where were the yells? The stern looks? The reminders about her social status? Wasn’t she supposed to be always at the top, never show the slightest hint of weakness?

“Amity? Is something wrong?” Lilith’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. The adult witch looked worried.

“Yeah! Yeah, just… Thinking about stuff.” Lilith nodded, but concern didn’t leave her eyes. Amity noticed, so she tried to change topic. “What about you? How is life at the Owl House?”

Lilith shook her head with a fond smile and took another sip of her tea. “The first few days were… rough to say the least. Edalyn and I remained tense despite her claiming to have forgiven me. That tiny skull demon, King, wouldn’t get anywhere near me and the hu-  _ Luz  _ remained distant despite her cheery façade.” Lilith slowly shook her head, smile still in her face, and looked at the ceiling. “But, as the days passed, the tension started to ease and well… I think you’ve seen enough to guess.” Amity simply nodded. “It’s like there’s something in this house… It just makes you feel at home so easily.”

Amity nodded again. “Yeah, it does…” And so, the two of them simply stayed silent, taking in the unusually calm atmosphere of the house until the door was slammed open, awakening King with an annoyed “weh!” before he stormed off upstairs.

“...the way you absolutely beat those guards up was amazing!” Yelled Luz, walking backwards into the house.

“Oh pfft, of course it was! But your glyph game wasn’t that bad either, kid!” Replied Eda, walking behind her apprentice with a smug grin on her face, Owlbert in one hand and a bag containing her stand floating behind her. She then looked at Lilith and Amity. “Looks like you have a visit.” She said, lightly elbowing Luz’s arm as the girl was still too excited about what had happened at the market to notice. 

The human turned around to look at Amity. “Hi Amity!” She rushed to the witchling, giving her a tight hug that gained Amity knowing smirks from the Clawthorne sisters, then let her go after a few seconds. “Sorry I kept you waiting, our Beast Keeping teacher had an uh… accident” That remark was accompanied by air quotes and Amity wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what a beast keeping accident was. “So we were let out an hour early, which Eda took advantage of.”

“Hey!” Interrupted Eda, “I needed some help out there y’know.”

Luz playfully rolled her eyes at her mentor, then looked back at Amity. “Just let me get my phone and we can get started!” And so, the human girl quickly rushed upstairs, leaving Amity alone with the two adult witches.

* * *

“Okay Am, say hi to the camera!” Luz had grabbed her phone, and the duo was now in Eda's backyard.

Amity looked at Luz and scoffed. “Luz we are not doing a vlog, I’m teaching you magic.”

“Hey, just wanted an introduction for when I show my mom!”

Amity’s ears dropped and her face turned bright red. Luz’s mother?! “W-what?!”

“Yeah! After almost being captured back at the castle I've decided I’m gonna be honest to her from now on so… Say hi!” Amity simply stood there, completely frozen. Luz Noceda’s  _ mother _ was going to  _ meet her _ , even if it was through videos. Her crush’s mom. To say her brain crashed was putting it lightly.

“You okay there, Amity?”

“Y-yeah! I’m fine, just peachy!” Amity managed to say, then let out a slight groan. Oh this was going terribly. “Alright, let’s just get this over with, shall we?” She managed to blurt out, trying to get her mind out of the fact that the first time Luz’s mother would see her would be through a video. And being visibly crushing on her daughter. Oh Titan help her.

She took a deep breath, calming down, and reached forward with her arm. “Okay, ready?” The human simply nodded in response, and the witch slowly drew a pink spell circle in the air. The light ring finally connected, and a small abomination appeared behind her before quickly dissolving. “Did you get it?”

Luz had stopped recording right when the spell circle was finished and was carefully replaying the video, tongue sticking out in sheer focus. She tapped the video and her eyes lit up. “I did!” She said, jumping up with a fist raised. “Look!” And so she practically shoved her phone on Amity’s face, but the Blight saw it. Inside the spell circle was a glyph, showing what looked like an abomination with its arms outstretched.

“Oh my gosh I gotta try it right now!” And so, Luz dropped on her knees, carefully copying the glyph’s pattern on her glyph notebook before tapping it. The tiny piece of paper folded into itself, the page turning into purple goo. The abomination itself was tiny, barely taller than King was, but that didn’t stop Luz from squealing like a little kid, or Amity from staring awestruck.

“We did it!” Yelled the human girl before pulling Amity into the tightest hug the poor witch had ever felt. “Thank you thank you thank you” The human said on rapid fire before turning around to her tiny creation, leaving poor Amity standing there, barely keeping her soul inside of her body.

“Abomination, walk!” Luz told the tiny abomination. The creature groaned, and took a couple clumsy steps towards her before tripping and collapsing on itself.

“Not bad for a first try, kiddo.” Said a voice from behind the girls. Both turned around, seeing Eda resting on the backdoor, arms crossed and a grin on her face. “Looks like you two figured it out, huh?”

Luz enthusiastically nodded. “Yes! Oh my gosh Eda this is  _ so cool _ !”

Eda shrugged and walked towards them. “Yeah, that was impressive alright, but…” She shot the two girls a grin. “You wanna see something  _ really  _ cool?” Luz started bouncing in excitement, and Amity raised an eyebrow. “I’ll take that as a yes. So, pay attention, ‘cause this might really interest you. Especially you, greenie. I assure you if you pull this off your teacher’s gonna go wild.”

Amity frowned upon hearing her new “nickname”, but didn’t complain. She was way too curious about what the Owl Lady would show them. Eda shot them a grin, and drew a spell circle. Sure enough, an abomination rose up right in front of her. However, instead of the vaguely humanoid face with two eyes and a mouth, this one had an owl-like face, with a pretty distinct beak and two small horns on the top of its head, not unlike those of an eagle-owl. She really had a theme, Amity thought.

“Now, as you might have noticed, having to tell an abomination every single command can be tedious at best. At worst, it makes you waste some really precious time. However, there are other ways of making an abomination act. You see, at school” That last word had a visible mocking tone that wasn’t lost on the teens “they tell you that an abomination is something like a tool, a brainless goon you can boss around. And sure, you can look at it like that or you could go deeper.”

Eda looked at a tree that was on the edge of the forest and smiled. “Because what is an abomination, but an extension of one’s own will? If you think of the abomination not as a tool or a servant, but an extension of your very being not unlike a limb, you can do stuff like this.”

And as soon as she said that, the Abomination swiftly moved over to the tree with a speed none of the girls thought even possible. Then it let out a groan, and a flurry of punches started hitting the tree. The creation’s fists were going so fast it looked like it had grown dozens of arms, the impacts so strong they sounded almost like crashes. In a matter of seconds the tree snapped and fell.

Eda turned to the girls with a smug grin, and saw them both open-mouthed. Luz was mumbling excitedly about how awesome that was and something about an anime, while Amity just stared in awe.

“Of course you can do some other stuff like changing how solid your abomination is, and if you’re feeling extra rebellious you could mix it with ice magic to create an armored abomination or fire magic to give it flaming fists, but the concept is more or less the same.” The Clawthorne crossed her arms. “I think you’ve already done this a few times without even noticing.”

Amity looked at her. “W-what?”

Eda nodded. “I don’t remember you saying anything back at Grom. And for what Luz told me about the rescue, you didn’t say anything while your abomination attacked those guards.”

Luz nodded. “Yeah that’s right. You just pointed and… bam, it attacked.”

And now that both Eda and Amity mentioned it, they were right. Amity hadn’t given her abominations any orders in either of those situations, she just summoned them and they acted, no word spoken. “You were probably so in the moment you didn’t even realize what was happening. Maybe you should try, see what you can do.”

Amity nodded, and drew another spell circle. A regular sized abomination showed up this time. Amity took a deep breath. Focus, she could do this, she was a Blight. No imperfections, no weaknesses. If someone could do this it was her. And so, the abomination lifted its foot, no command needed, took a step… And unceremoniously turned into a puddle.

“I-I am so sorry!” Amity suddenly said. “I- I don’t know what happened! I must have lost my focus, or maybe I accidentally turned it liquid, or…” 

“Kid” And here it came, the scolding. She could already hear her mother’s voice, despite Eda being the only adult present.  _ You’re a failure, you’re weak, you shouldn’t even try, you tarnish our family’s name _ . “Don’t be so harsh on yourself, it’s your first try after all. Most people can’t even get it to move at all.”

“Yeah Amity, it was super cool!” Affirmed Luz. And with that, Amity couldn’t help but cry. Was this what it felt like to have someone who actually cared? Never in her 14 years of life had her parents been as comprehensive as Eda, Lilith, Luz and hell, even King had been in the last month. And first thing she knew, Luz was hugging her. And old Amity would’ve probably shoved her away, told her to get lost, that she didn’t need her pity. But now? Now Amity simply let herself melt into the human’s hug.

* * *

Alador sighed, sitting in his studio, mumbling to himself while he signed papers. He really needed time to think, and so he got up and summoned an abomination. The creation looked over at the papers and sat down, sprouting an extra pair of limbs and, one pen on each hand, started to sign non-stop.

The man grinned before summoning a mug of apple blood and walking over to a couch near his desk. He pitched the bridge of his nose and took a sip, thinking about what had happened earlier. The twins had said Amity was at a friend’s house, practicing for an abomination exam. Of course Odalia simply believed them, she still thought they were in her grip, but he noticed a shade of uneasiness in their eyes. They were hiding something.

And he had an idea of what that something was. For one, the friend group they (actually Odalia’s doing, he had simply nodded tiredly while his wife listed families their daughter should strengthen bonds with) had picked for Amity had no one on the abominations track, which meant she was making “unauthorized friendships”. He groaned, oh that sounded so wrong.

And he knew exactly what friendships Amity had made, the Triophthalmos family had informed him about Amity growing distant to their daughter, Boscha if he recalled correctly, in favor of Willow Park and… the human. His first instinct had been to tell Odalia, or even do the hard work himself but after remembering what had happened with the Park girl he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

His wife would’ve called it weakness, but he’d be damned if he would let his entire personality be wiped clean by an arranged marriage and a controlling wife. Sure, he would be stern, he’d be concerned about the family name even if it wasn’t his, but he had his limits. Limits he had learned after hearing his kids cry themselves to sleep when they thought no one was hearing them, or after seeing his own children go white in fear whenever he addressed them.

He sighed, taking a long sip from his apple blood. He couldn’t help but smile at the irony of his daughter befriending the human, Edalyn Clawthorne’s portégéé and practically adopted daughter, after all these years his fate had crossed paths with Eda’s again.

A sudden ring pulled him away from his thoughts, and he quickly fished his hand mirror from his robes’ pocket. He opened it, being greeted by the image of Kikimora. “Greeting Kikimora, what’s the matter?”

“Emperor Belos has called for the council’s reunion, a reorganization of the Coven is necessary after Lilith’s betrayal. His highness claims it’s of the utmost urgency, and urges you to bring your wife along. This might take around a week, so a room has been prepared at the castle for you. Do not be late.”

Alador nodded. “Understood. Goodbye, Kikimora.” And so, he closed the mirror, then let out a groan. This would delay his paperwork so much, he shuddered to imagine the sheer mountain of papers he’d have to sign when this whole ordeal was finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all for today! Hope you guys liked it, leave a kudo and a comment if you did!  
> Also yes Eda's abomination might have been a Jojo reference. I'm sorry, I'm weak.


	5. Trials

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "There might be some delays", says the author before updating ahead of schedule.

Amity rushed down the path leading to the Blight manor, still shaken up by what had happened back at the Owl House. She had just calmed down after her sudden breakdown when she received a text from Emira saying their parents wanted to talk to them. Quickly. And so she had excused herself and given her farewells before trailing off.

And now she was standing at the gates of the mansion. She took a deep breath and opened them, stepping into the familiar halls. There she found her parents and the twins, waiting for her.

“Ah, Amity, there you are.” Said Odalia with a sweet tone that put the poor kid on edge. Her father simply nodded as a greeting. Amity quickly walked over to the twins, and the three young Blights stood in line, waiting for what their parents would say.

“We have been summoned by the Emperor himself” stated Odalia, “we have been informed it’s an urgent matter, so we shall be leaving shortly. We believe this meeting will take us around a week, so in that time you three will be left in charge of the manor.” She then turned her attention to the siblings, a cold sweat running down their necks. “I know it’s been some time since last time you were left alone, but I assume you still know how to operate the manor’s enchantments, am I correct?” The twins simply nodded. “Good. We have programmed this week’s meals into the kitchen’s cooking magic anyways, just to be safe. We wouldn’t want another noodle incident, would we? Edric?” The woman’s tone became noticeably darker with those last words, spoken almost like a threat. The poor boy went pale and nodded nervously. “Good.”

“We expect you will keep your discipline and uphold the family name with the utmost care in our absence.” Added Alador. “And, in case anything happens, you can always contact me or your mother with your scrolls. However, be warned that it is for emergencies only. Do you understand?”

“Yes, father” Said all three in unison.

“Good, in that case we are leaving now. Goodbye, children.” Odalia finished the conversation with a smile that put the kids on edge, then both elder Blights left the manor to ride on their personal flying boat. The luxurious ship was a far cry from the ones used at Hexside with two rows of padded seats and a hood to block out the weather and obscure the sunlight. All of this was, of course, topped off with golden details and various decorations.

The boat slowly took off and flew off to the horizon, leaving the three Blight children alone. A grin grew on Edric’s face. “Well, looks like we’re alone.”

The two girls raised their eyebrows. “What do you want, Edric?” Asked Emira.

“Hey, nothing! Just a comment. But I’m just saying, I won’t rat you out if any of you two decide to visit your girlfriends, maybe even stay over with them~”

His sisters’ faces quickly turned scarlet. “Ed, I’m going to give you a five second headstart” Warned Emira with the look of someone about to commit a murder, and so the boy ran inside, followed by both Amity and Emira close behind.

* * *

Alador sighed, resting his head on his knuckles. “I hope this is truly important, because I swear to the Titan if I have to lose an entire week worth of work because Skolas wants more funding for the Bard Coven again…”

Odalia simply scoffed. “Ah, you’re always so excited about Council Reunions, dear.” She said, with a mocking tone. “No, I doubt it’s something as petty as that. If you ask me, this must be about that treacherous rat of a Clawthorne and her position being left vacant.”

Her husband simply shrugged, he had completely forgotten about Lilith’s betrayal. “I guess you are right, dearest. But in that case, I’m surprised Emperor Belos didn’t simply promote someone from the Emperor’s Coven.”

Odalia scoffed yet again, anger visible in her expression. “Please, don’t make me laugh. That Coven has been filled with nothing but nitwits and rubes for the last few years, our Amity could do a better job than half of those useless simpletons.” The woman sighed and shook her head. “I am not even surprised, standards have fallen so low lately, it’s nothing but disgusting. Look at Hexside! It used to be the most prestigious school of magic of the entire Isles, but now Bump has gone so… soft.” That last word had so much venom in it it could've killed an adult griffin. “First he allows weaklings like that Park girl in the school, and now a human!”

Alador raised his eyebrow. “Well, for what I’ve heard that human has achieved some impressive feats. Perhaps we underestima-”

“Nonsense.” His wife cut him off. “The only impressive thing that wretched creature has done is cause chaos and associate itself with a wanted criminal. Its mere presence is tainting Hexside’s prestigious reputation.”

Alador couldn’t help but roll his eyes as his wife continued to ramble about the human, Hexside and how easily corrupted the youths were. Alador simply decided to zone out for the rest of the journey, he knew once Odalia got like that there would be no stopping her.

Gratefully he felt the boat come to a stop rather soon, signaling their arrival to the castle. The two Blights exited their vehicle in unison, right in front of the castle’s bridge, which was already extended. The couple made their way into the fortress, and after what seemed like endless halls and stairways, they finally reached the council room.

A large oval table made of dark wood sat at the center, with one chair for the head of each coven, along with the chair of Emperor Belos. However, that day there was one extra chair, sitting right next to Alador’s. Clearly Odalia’s. The pair sat down under the curious gaze the other coven leaders, but none said anything.

“Didn’t know it was ‘Bring your wife to work’ day” said a man sitting on the Bard Coven chair. Alador groaned.

“Skolas…”

“Ah cheer up Al, it’s just a joke.”

“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware that the Bard Coven included buffoons too?” Dryly asked Odalia, making Skolas freeze up and gaining a smirk from Alador. The Blight matriarch then eyed down every single one of the coven leaders seated at the table, tension so thick it could be cut with a knife. And just like that, Odalia had established her dominance.

And so, the group remained in silence for a few minutes until they heard a new female voice. “All stand up for Emperor Belos.” Kikimora declared, entering the room. And so they did, every single witch quickly standing up.

“Long may he reign, for he’s the Titan’s will.” All said in unison as the monarch entered the room. The armored figure easily towered over all of them, his helmet’s dark eye holes carefully examining the room. Belos finally got to his chair. 

“Take a seat.” And so they all did. Belos sat down after them, presiding over the table. “As you may know, two weeks ago the former head of the Emperor’s Coven, Lilith Clawthorne, was vanished for treachery. I didn’t petrify her, but for all intents and purposes she’s dead, leaving the spot of Head of the Coven free. Normally I’d just promote someone from the Emperor’s Coven, but after the utter disaster that was the defense of the castle from those intruders I have decided none of them are up to the task.”

Odalia gave Alador an “I told you so” look, which only made her husband roll his eyes.

“And that’s why, after careful consideration, I have decided one of you shall be chosen as head of the Emperor’s Coven.” Continued Belos. The silence of the room was immediately broken as everyone started to whisper, save for the Blights. The Emperor stared at them for a few seconds before raising his hand, prompting everyone to stop talking. “As heads of the covens, you’re among the best magic users in the Isles, so I trust you will be up to the task. And before any of you ask, Mrs. Blight will join you. Her raw magical talent and political poweress are undeniable, so I have decided to select her as a candidate myself. I assume by now you all know what the test entails. The magic needed to use it is high, so I’m afraid only two can be tested per day.”

Belos then turned his gaze towards Alador. “Alador Blight shall be the first, followed by Elentrya Aureum.” He stated, now focusing on the head of the Beast Keeping Coven. “Any questions?” Silence. “Good. In that case, Kikimora will lead the candidates to the test room.” And with that, Belos got up and left.

* * *

The Test Room, as Belos had called it, was incredibly simple. Four pillars with light orbs floating on top illuminated the small room, which had no furniture. The only thing present was a circular pool of a strange green liquid. Alador could feel its magic, so strong it might as well be pure magic in liquid form.

Alador took a deep breath and stepped towards the pool. He hesitated for a second and gently touched the surface with his finger. When he raised it back up he found his finger completely dry. Well, that was strange. With that out of the way, he finally stepped into the liquid, slowly walking in until he was waist-deep, at the center of the pool.

He looked around, waiting for something to happen. Supposedly the Titan himself would be judging him, but he had no idea what that was supposed to be. Then he realized the liquid was starting to glow, green light gently touching his face, and suddenly he felt a shock in the back of his head, like he had been electrocuted. He let out a scream of pain, and then everything went pitch black.

* * *

“Eda, you can’t be serious” He said with a chuckle. “I’m in the abominations track, you’re on potions track. This wouldn’t even be a duel, in fact I think the teachs would say I’m bullying you.”

The orange haired girl snorted. “What’s the matter Al, too scared of a potion girl beating you up?”

Alador grinned in response, and put his fist on his chest, feigning offense. “Oh, you have hurt my feelings, you inconsiderate wench!”

Eda simply rolled her eyes. “Ugh, don’t get all snobby on me please. You gonna duel or not?” Alador rolled his eyes back in response. “Fine, but don’t get surprised after I beat you.”

Eda grinned. “In your dreams.”

And so, the two 15 year olds got into position, at the back of Hexside where no one could see them sparring. “Abomination, rise!” A gooey creature emerged in front of Alador, sporting an extra pair of arms. “Abomination, attack!”

And so, the abomination threw itself on Eda’s direction, throwing a punch faster than a witch could. However, the Clawthorne was quick to react, ducking under the creature’s arm. The girl dodged three other punches until she quickly took a vial with a yellow liquid from her orange mane and threw it at the abomination’s fist. The glass shattered upon impact, and the liquid quickly shrank the abomination’s fist down to the size of an ant. The girl dodged another punch and this time threw a fireball, which the abomination took right in the chest.

The creature moaned in response, but barely flinched, opting instead for a kick. Eda quickly jumped out of the way, tossing another vial on its leg, which turned into stone. The abomination tore its leg off with a quick move, quickly regenerating it and tossing the old petrified leg at Eda, who barely had time to summon an ice wall to block it off.

“Using a lot of elemental magic, aren’t we?” Taunted Alador.

“I am part of the potions coven after all, am I not?” Eda replied, dodging another punch and throwing yet another potion. This one quickly exploded on the abomination’s limb, causing a thick cloud of smoke.

Alador coughed, looking around him. “Oh that was a dirty move.” Slowly, the smoke started to dissipate, but nothing could’ve prepared him for what he would find. He was surrounded by Edas. He started spinning, looking at every Eda clone with a look of sheer confusion, until something sweeped his leg.

He felt backwards with a yelp, hitting the ground. Standing over him was Eda, with the smuggest grin he had ever seen. “See? Told ya I’d win.”

“W-was that Illusion magic?” Eda’s grin quickly disappeared from her face, and she instantly went pale. “Eda! You can’t do that! What if you get caught?!”

Eda simply looked at him, her clones disappearing with a poof. “I-” Her ears went down. “Please don’t rat me out.” The girl quickly blurted out. “I just- I just want to become the strongest witch and-”

“Hey” Alador cut her off, slowly getting up. “It’s aight, I won’t say a word, we’re friends, aren’t we?”. He said, giving Eda a soft punch on her shoulder. “Just saying, don’t show off or you’re gonna get caught.” She grinned. 

“Going soft on me, Al?”

He rolled his eyes with a smirk. “Oh please, don’t make it weird.” He suddenly felt Eda’s arm wrapped around his neck, the girl locking him under her arm and pulling him closer. He yelped in surprise, but didn’t complain.

Both then started to walk back to school. “So, I was thinking of a new prank, but I’m gonna need your help with this one!”

“Oh yeah? What would Lord Calamity need my help for?”

“Well, let’s just say I could use a few abominations…”

* * *

Alador gasped, bending over and bringing his hands to his knees. His breath was shaky, and his vision blurry. He stood there for a few seconds, slowly recovering. Then, he finally realized where he was. He wasn’t at Hexside, he was at the Test Chamber, and he wasn’t 15, he was 45.

He ran his fingers through his hair, and walked over to the room’s gates. He took a deep breath. No weaknesses. Alador finally composed himself, straightening himself and regaining his usual neutral face, then finally left the room. Outside, he found Kikimora and Elentrya waiting.

He walked past them and heard the gates of the chamber close behind him, but he didn’t stop. Not until reaching his private room. After what felt like an eternity, he found the door of the room, quickly opening it and sinking himself on his desk’s chair. The room wasn’t nearly as luxurious as the bedroom he had at the manor, it had a rather large bed, a desk with its chair for any work needed to be done while at the castle and a few bookshelves.

“I see you’re back, dear.” Oh right, Odalia was there. “You look like you just had to fight a slitherbeast with your bare hands.”

Alador simply sighed. “The test is… taxing. Both mentally and magically.” The man explained. Odalia raised an eyebrow.

“Oh really? I thought it was simply the Titan judging you. Tell me, what does it entail?”

Alador turned on his seat, facing Odalia. She was sitting on their bed, a curious look on her face. “You will be left alone in the Test Chamber. There you will find a pool of green liquid. Fret not, it won’t soak, it appears to be made of pure magic.” The man groaned a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. “After that you will feel an electric shock. The Titan will then find what I assume is a core memory, one showing your true self.”

“What memory did the Titan choose to judge you, dear?”

“The day I became a Blight.” Alador lied, without even thinking. Odalia smirked, then went back to reading a book she had been holding the entire conversation, leaving Alador with his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all for today! This chapter was really fun to write, even if I might be writing Alador way too sympathetic. As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!


	6. Beasts and Illusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah this is pure Vinera, buckle up pals.
> 
> PD: I'd like to thank [StormySkiesAhead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormySkiesAhead/pseuds/StormySkiesAhead) for giving the fic a new, much better description! It was about time I got something fancier.

The Blight family was one that invoked respect and admiration among their peers, maybe even fear. No one wanted to deal with the nightmare that was an angry Blight, so both due to their raw magical ability and their influence. One wrong move could forever destroy your life. And that was why, when Emira Blight met a certain blunt and straightforward dual track student she had Emira’s curiosity. To say that curiosity evolved into something else was putting it lightly.

Now the Blight’s parents would’ve gone ballistic if they ever learned about this situation, or at least her mother would while her father simply parroted Odalia’s reprimand, so the teen had tried to keep everything a secret. Unfortunately for her, Edric caught them red-handed. Fortunately, her brother was not one to rat her out to her parents. But the teasing was still unbearable. So that’s why, when Emira told Edric she was going to skip Illusion Basics that day, she tried to come up with an excuse.

“I’ve already studied that part, don’t need the ‘teach to tell me what I already know.”

Edric simply gave her a deadpan stare. “...I haven’t seen you open a book in my life.”

“I was at the library okay!”

“The one we’re banned from entering for life?”

“I meant the school library!”

“Em, the school library was destroyed a month ago when a pyrotechnics book was left open during the wailing star.”

Emira felt her face turn scarlet, struggling to get words out of her mouth, but nothing came. Edric simply gave her a sly smirk, leaning on his locker. “If you wanna go visit your girlfriend you can just go ahead y’know? Titan, you are the spitting image of Mittens when talking about that Viney girl.” He raised an eyebrow. “Wait no, you’re even redder! How is that even possible?!”

The girl let out what could only be described as a growl before throwing a book at Ed, who barely managed to dodge it. The boy laughed, seeing his sister simply stand there, completely mortified, before letting out a “shut it, Edric!” that sounded more like a squeak than a threat.

Ed finally managed to calm down, wiping away some tears of laughter. “Alright, alright! Lemme just…” He quickly drew a spell circle, an illusionary Emira appearing besides him. “There you go, now go seduce your fair maiden, oh dear sister!”

Emira hissed something at him, raising her finger, but opted to pick up the book she had just thrown and put it back on her locker before storming off, not wanting to deal with Ed’s teasing any other second.

And so she crossed Hexside’s several halls and wings, before finally reaching one of the exits and heading to the stables. Well, calling that place “stables” was simply doing it an injustice. The area was large, almost as big as the main building itself, with several small buildings that acted as storage rooms scattered between beautifully decorated paddocks that kept the animals contained. Luz had at some point compared it to something humans call ‘a zoo’.

Emira took a deep breath and started walking down the path leading to where the griffins were. She saw several creatures of all kinds stare at her from their paddocks, some with way too hungry eyes, until a familiar coo caught her attention.

She looked in the direction of the sound, and spotted a young griffin perched on a rock of its enclosure, curiously eyeing her. Emira smiled and walked over to the paddock, the animal soaring down to her level, stopped by an invisible magical barrier.

“Hey there Puddles.” Emira drew a spell circle Viney had taught her, lifting the magical barrier. Puddles cooed at her, giving her a light headbutt before lightly pecking at her clothes, preening the girl. Emira chuckled, lightly shoving the animal away before giving her a light scratch. “Hey, don’t destroy my uniform! It’s expensive, you know?”

“You get why mine is so banged up now?” A female voice said behind Emira, causing the Blight to jump in surprise with a squeak. Puddles jumped back, feathers slightly ruffled until she noticed who the voice’s owner was, which prompted the beast to all but pounce at her owner.

Emira quickly got out of the way, seeing a blur of grey and brown jump at a shorter girl with green eyes and a hair bun. Viney caught Puddles in a hug, the animal happily preening her hair and clothes while giving off a weird mix of a purr and a coo.

Emira simply stared at the girl enthusiastically scratching Puddles’ head while laughing, completely bewitched by the scene. It wasn’t until Viney managed to calm Puddles down and speak that the Blight broke off her trance.

“So, what’re you doing here?”

And so, Emira found herself doing something she never did with anyone else. Stumbling. “Oh! I- I was just- I mean, I wanted to-  _ Ugh _ ” Just like that, Emira Blight, the most popular student of her class and the one with such a charm and presence it could cause a rock to fluster itself, turned bright red and facepalmed.

Viney simply chuckled, a light shade of pink dusting her cheeks for a moment. “Real smooth, Blight.”

Emira simply clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, trying to focus. “What I meant to say is…” She cleared her throat. “My parents are gone for a week, so if you wanna, I dunno, hang out or something…”

Viney simply raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Oh, so this is that second date you promised me?”

And Titan damn it Emira was somehow being out-sassed. She should’ve been enraged, but somehow, she wasn’t. “...Maybe?” The Blight said, rubbing the back of her neck. Every time, every single time she talked to the dual track girl her brain just decided to take a vacation. Edric was right, she really was just like Amity.

“Alright rich girl, but this time I’ll make the plans, okay? Gotta repay you for our first date. See you at 6 at Blight Manor?”

Emira nodded. “Sure!” And so, the two girls simply stood there, Viney gently stroking Puddle’s feline back. “So…” Finally said the shorter girl. “I was gonna Puddles some food. It’s in a storage building close to here, if you wanna come…”

“Eh sure, Ed’s got me covered with his illusion so I got an entire hour free.”

* * *

“What do you think?” Emira asked.

“Certainly less fancy than last time.” Her brother answered. It was nearing 6 in the afternoon and Viney would arrive soon, but Emira was still somehow trying to get an outfit. To the annoyance of Edric.

“Oh come on, I’m not gonna wear that dress for every date. Besides, she told me I shouldn’t get anything too expensive.”

“Emira, we are Blights, even our toilet paper is expensive.” Edric got up from Emira’s bed, where he had been sitting for the last few minutes, and walked over to his twin. “Please, when I told you you were acting like Mittens you weren’t supposed to take it  _ literally _ !” He said, almost begging.

Emira simply scoffed. “Please, what would you know about this stuff! The closest you’ve ever had to a boyfriend was that stuffed animal you loved so much when you were three!”

“Hey! Don’t bring Mister Snuggles into this!” Edric then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, we’re talking about the girl who wears a fish hook as an earring, you really think she’ll care about your outfit?”

Emira made to object, but she said nothing and simply sighed. “You’re right, I shouldn’t get all worked up about this.” She then looked down to what she was wearing, it wasn’t terribly fancy but it wasn’t casual either.

And it wasn’t like she had time to change, because right in that moment they heard someone knocking on the front door. Emira shot up for a moment, startled, and took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s go.”

Edric shot his sister a thumbs up before she left the room, making her way downstairs. She heard knocking again. “Coming!” She finally got to the main entrance, took a deep breath and opened the door.

Before her stood Viney, wearing what looked like rider boots, long pants and a long sleeved shirt. Emira had to concede, she really was worrying way too much about her outfit, because that didn’t look like something someone would wear on a second date.

“Watcha looking at, Blight?” Asked Viney, with a smug grin.

“I’m guessing you aren’t taking me out for a romantic dinner, huh?” The other girl asked, arms crossed and hip resting on the doorway.

“Eh, figured the daughter of one of the richest and most powerful families in the Isles has already been on way too many fancy dates so I thought I’d give you something you’ve probably never experienced.”

Emira raised an eyebrow, curiosity slowly appearing in her eyes but a teasing grin in her face. “Really? And what would that be?”

“I’m glad you asked...” And with that, Viney whisteled. Emira’s grin disappeared, quickly turned into pure surprise as she saw Puddles gently gliding down from the manor’s roof. “Ever rode a griffin before?”

Emira blinked. “I… I can’t say I have.” Wow, she had been caught completely off guard by that. “Are you sure Puddles will be able to carry both of us?”

The beast perked up at the mention of her name, finally noticing the Blight girl and giving her one of her trademark headbutts. “Oh yeah, for sure! She weighed 500 kilos in her last check up, she should be able to carry both of us no problem.”

And with that, Viney quickly hopped on Puddles’ back, despite the animal being taller than her by that point. The beast keeper then offered Emira a hand and helped her up. Em sat behind Viney, grateful to her past self for deciding to get pants instead of a skirt. “Hold on tight!” Said Viney, then she leaned down to Puddles’ head, giving her a couple of pats. “Alright Puddles, let’s go!”

Puddles cooed in response, and after a short trot she took into the skies. Emira yelped and all but threw herself at Viney’s waist as the griffin quickly continued to ascend, closing her eyes in fear. 

After a while, she felt Puddles had stopped going up and had slowed down. She slowly opened one eye and looked up, Viney simply staring at her with a grin. “Scared of heights?” Emira opened her eyes wide in surprise, a blush crawling up her face.

“W-what? Pfft, no! Of course not!”

“Then why are you holding onto me for your dear life for like five minutes?” Emira quickly let go of Viney, letting out an awkward cough. Viney chuckled. “I can’t believe you’re the same Emira Blight I hid in fear from just a month ago.”

However, Emira didn’t answer, too enthralled by the sights. They were flying high above the clouds, stars so close she felt like she could touch them. The moon was full and hanging above them, silver light gently bathing the two girls and the griffin.

“It’s great, isn’t it?” Said Viney, a soft smile in her face.

“Yeah…” Emira looked to her other side, and saw a group of stars she hadn’t noticed before. Except… They were moving, moving like a flock of birds. Right towards them. “Uuuh… Viney?” The other girl simply hummed. “What is  _ that?! _ ” Emira asked, pointing at the ‘stars’

Viney looked at her date, and followed her finger. When she saw what Emira was pointing at, she simply snorted. “Oh, don’t worry about those, just fairy dragons.”

Emira simply raised an eyebrow. “Fairy… Dragons?” The Blight looked at the lights coming closer, their shape slowly becoming discernible. They were tiny, fuzzy creatures with bat-like wings. They had a big, round head with a large mouth and equally large eyes, perfect for flying at nighttime. Their wing membranes were adorned with intricate patterns that glowed with a teal light in the dark. Emira had to admit they looked cute.

The tiny animals fluttered around them curiously, some even daring to land on the girls’ heads before taking off again. Puddles snapped at a few of them that dared to get close to her beak, causing them to change their light to red. The reaction spread, some of the dragons flashing red lights while others simply kept their teal, causing a mix of colors that lit up the night sky.

The two girls simply stared at the light show around them, the waves of colors mixing with each other as the animals flew between them. The red eventually started to fade into a gentle orange, and finally back to teal as the startled animals started to calm down. “...wow” Emira finally managed to say.

“That was…” Viney said “...not part of the plan.”

Emira chuckled, resting on Viney’s back and giving her a peck on the cheek. “You aren’t supposed to say that out loud, y’know.”

Emira saw a blush slowly creep on Viney’s face and she chuckled, satisfied for getting payback for earlier that morning. She leaned back, gently stroking Puddles’ back, still watching the fairy dragons. “Titan, Ed would be so jealous if he knew what’s going on.” 

Viney raised an eyebrow. “Please tell me I don’t have two Blights head over heels for me.”

Emira snorted. “Oh please, Ed walks the opposite lane to us. You aren’t his type.”

“Wow, you three really have a theme, huh?”

Emira simply chuckled. “I guess so. But anyways, Ed would be jealous because he just… loves animals to death. Last time we went to the Knee he tried to take a bat home!”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh but I am. In fact, when we were kids he wanted to join the beast keeping track.” Emira sighed, extending her palm so a smaller fairy dragon could land on it. The tiny critter landed on it on all fours before laying down, its teal light turning into a gentle pink, enjoying the warmth. A weak smile slowly appeared in her face before fading. “When he told our parents they… they really didn’t take it well. At all. At least mother didn’t. She told him that was nonsense, that a Blight should never mingle with dirty, hideous monsters and that it was a peasant’s job. Father simply looked at them with that weird emotionless stare of his. Edric was five at the time. He just ran off, crying. Mother didn’t show an ounce of regret, and father just went back to reading his stupid newspaper.”

The two witches simply sat in silence for a bit, Emira watching the tiny creature in her hands yawn and relax while Viney tried to stop Puddles from attacking any brave fairy dragons. Finally, Viney spoke up. “That… that’s horrible.”

Emira simply shrugged. “That’s the Blight life for ya, we gotta be perfect for our parents.” She smiled. “I guess it’s one of the reasons I fell for the dual track trouble maker.”

Viney leaned back, facing Emira “I guess.” The beast keeper then landed a quick kiss on Emira’s lips, causing the Blight to turn bright red. “But I like to think my charm helped.”

The tiny fairy dragon on Emira’s hand chirped before taking off, illuminating the witch’s face with a light blue color that caused her blush to be even more visible. She simply coughed. “Yeah, yeah, I guess so.”

The two couldn’t help but break into a laugh. And so, the two kept talking and teasing each other, the fairy dragons leaving them alone with the night sky after a few minutes, and first thing they knew they were back at Blight Manor. Emira hopped down from Puddles’s back. 

“Thanks for the ride cutie, really had fun tonight.” Said Emira with a wink.

“That’s the beast keeping life for you.” Replied Viney, returning the wink, before taking off. Emira looked at her leave, waving her goodbye before turning around and entering the house. She walked over to the kitchen, opening the fridge and snatching a can of non-alcoholic apple blood.

“I see you’re back from your date.”

“Shut it, Edric.” Had her brother been waiting for her to come back just for that? “Has Mittens come back yet?” She asked, opening her drink and taking a sip.

Edric shook his head. “Nope, wouldn’t surprise me if she stayed over at the Owl House again.” He said with a grin. Emira chuckled and rolled her eyes.

“Ah Mittens, such a disaster.” 

And almost as if on cue, they heard a crashing sound coming from Amity’s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! I know it took quite a bit but math test + catching a cold are a terrible combo for writing lol. And don't worry, we'll go back to our regularly scheduled Amity shenanigans soon! As always, leave a kudo and a comment if you liked it!
> 
> Btw, just for reference, the fairy dragons are basically this: but with glowly wings.


	7. No Turning Back

So far, it had been a pretty quiet day at Hexside for Amity. She had gotten through her classes with no problem and the twins had actually left her alone for once. She had even gotten the grades of her latest exam, a perfect A+. All in all, a great day for Amity Blight. Then lunch came, and that’s where the trouble began.

“Hey Am! Come sit with us!” Called out a voice. That voice, that damned voice. The Blight looked over at Boscha and her gang, then to where the voice was coming from. Luz was enthusiastically waving her hand, Gus sitting in front of her devouring a sandwich and Willow… Willow was giving her that smug, knowing face Amity hated so much. And she already had lunch packed from home so there was no need to go buy anything and crossing paths with Boscha.

All in all, the choice was easy. Amity gave the human girl a shy wave and walked over, feeling the cold stare of her old friend group in the back of her neck. Or at least Boscha’s stare. The Blight sat down on Luz’s side because that was the only free spot and she was 99% sure Willow had made sure this would happen. “Hi guys.” She said.

And five seconds later Luz already had wrapped an arm around her shoulders and had squished the poor witchling against her side. Judging by the look both Willow  _ and  _ Gus were giving her she was bright red. She couldn’t help but wonder how Luz had missed all of the blatantly obvious hints.

After what felt like an eternity Luz let her go. “Oh you got her right in time, we were just talking about meeting up at the Owl House later! It’ll be so cool, oh and there’s a human game I really wanna show you!”

The three girls saw Gus’ face shift from curiosity to what could only be described as childish awe. “A brand new human traditional game?! I must see this! I’m in!”

“Yes! I knew I could count on you Gus!” Luz said, giving the boy a high five. “What about you, Willow?”

The plant girl seemed to think it over for a few seconds before nodding with a smile. “Sure! My dads didn’t say anything about needing my help today, and it sounds fun!”

All three gazes shifted to Amity. “Amity?” Asked Luz. “I get if you don’t wanna come since you already went yesterday, plus your parents…”

“Yes! I will!” Suddenly blurted out Amity, ears dropped and fist in the air. Willow snorted, and the poor Blight girl was snapped back into reality and oh Titan did she want to just melt away and die right there and then.

“Really? That’s great!” Luz smiled, but concern quickly took over her face. “But what about your parents? Won’t they get mad?”

“Oh, don’t worry about them, they aren’t home.” Quickly replied Amity, somewhat taken aback by her friends’ concern. Had she really been ranting about her parents so much as of late?

“It’s settled then! We’ll meet at the Owl House at four!”

* * *

Luz stared Willow down. Tensions were high, the duo being watched closely by Gus, Amity and King. It was all or nothing. The human made her move.

“Uno!” She yelled, placing down her card. She gave Willow a smug grin, she was on the verge of winning, Willow still had three cards. Luz had this, she had won. Willow let out a small grin. Oh no.

The witchling took a card, and confidently placed it on the table. Skip. Her grin widened, another card was placed. Reverse. Luz went pale, Willow chanted uno, and she picked the next card. It was slammed against the hefty pile that had emerged on the table.

“Plus four. I win.” Everyone stood there in complete shock. Luz had been on a winning streak thanks to being experienced in the game, and everyone thought if someone would break that streak, it would be Amity. And yet, there sat Willow, the usual sweet and cheerful girl with a sly grin that looked way out of place in her face.

Finally, Luz spoke. “For how long had you been holding onto those cards?”

“The whole match.”

“Wow, never knew this competitive side of you.” Said Amity. Willow simply shrugged.

“Yeah Willow, that was amazing! You’ve mastered a human game all by yourself!” Cheered Gus.

“Plant girl, you have won a spot in my army as the top strategist!” Proudly announced King, hopping onto the table and pointing at the ceiling. The group laughed at the tiny demon’s antics, enjoying the moment, when a certain Owl Lady walked in, grabbing King by the collar. The demon let out a ‘weh’ in surprise as he felt himself being lifted up.

“What did I tell you about standing on the furniture, you lil’ rascal?” Said Eda, putting King back on the floor. “The King of Demons will not be picked around like a household pet! I will get my- weh!” Proclaimed King before getting whacked by a levitating broom.

“Anyways! I know you’re having fun and all, but it’s gettin’ kinda late so you better head home, kids.”

“Aww, can’t they stay a little longer?” Luz was already giving Eda her trademark puppy eyes and oh Titan that wasn’t good.

“Eda is right, my dads might get worried if I don’t come back soon.” 

“Yeah, my dad too. He’ll come back from an interview soon and I don’t want to worry him.”

And just like that, Willow and Gus to the rescue. Eda clapped her hands. “Alright then, scatter before Luz somehow guilts us all into a sleepover!”

All three witchlings got up from their seats and gave their goodbyes. Willow and Gus left first, but when Amity moved to the door she was stopped. “Hold on Blight, need to talk to ya.”

Amity froze in place and slowly turned around, ears pinned down. Eda had crossed her arms, and was staring right at her. Lilith had just entered the room and was looking curiously at the scene. “Listen kid, lately you’ve been here day in day out, it’s been getting to a point where I’m starting to cook dinner for five people instead of four. So I’m going to ask you this one thing: Are you one hundred percent, without a shadow of a doubt, sure you  _ want  _ to go back to the manor?”

Everyone in the living room stood there in silence, taking in the words Eda had just said.

“Edalyn… Are you suggesting Amity just… runs away from her home?!” Lilith finally broke the silence. Eda looked at her.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing, Lily.”

“Edalyn that’s insane! You are asking this girl to run away from her family and to live with wanted criminals! Besides, these are the Blights we are talking about, they’ll get the Emperor himself involved if it means getting her back!”

“It’s precisely because they’re the Blights why I’m offering her this! We both know how they are! I know how they are…” She muttered the last part.

“Edalyn, trust me, I know, but you have to agree with me tha-”

“Okay.” A voice broke their argument. Right, Amity, the girl they were arguing about was still right there, deciding her future. And she had… agreed? Lilith walked over to her, kneeling down in front of the girl and squeezing her shoulder.

“Are… Are you sure? You must understand, if you do this, there is no turning back.”

“But there is!” All eyes were now on Luz, who awkwardly smiled, feeling herself shrink into the couch. “I-I mean… You said your parents are away for a while so…”

“Hu-Luz, you can’t be possibly suggesting we give Amity a free trail for running away from home.” Lilith said, pinching the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

“That’s a pretty good idea, kid!” Eda said, giving Luz a finger gun, before turning to Amity. “So, you keepin’ that yes?”

Amity looked at Eda, then at Lilith and finally at Luz. The human girl was staring at her, and she could’ve sworn she saw.. hope in her eyes. Maybe… No, this was not the time. Amity took a deep breath, she could do this, she’d get away from her parents’ shadows. The pressure would be gone, the expectations, the rules, the status. All of it.

“I am.”

* * *

“Oh my Titan this was a terrible idea!” Amity was now walking back and forth in Luz’s room, the human girl sitting on top of her sleeping back and watching the witchling. “Lilith is right! My parents will come and get me! They’ll come here and raze the house to the ground and lock me up inside my room for the rest of my life! What if they get Belos involved?! They have that power, he would capture all of you and petrify you without second thought!”

“Amity…”

“And what about the twins?! I can’t just leave them behind! Sure they’re annoying but they don’t deserve to be left to fend for themselves against mother and father!” The poor girl nervously ran her hands through her hair, on the verge of breaking into a cry. “They’ll start to pressure them even more and-and they’ll become super controlling and-” Amity’s eyes widened in panic. “Oh my Titan what about Emira?! Edric said she’s dating Viney in secret! If our parents become even more controlling they’ll find out and go after Viney too and-!”

“Amity!” Luz’s voice broke her away from her rant. The witchling looked at her, seeing genuine worry in the human’s eyes. “Calm down, and listen to me okay? The twins will be fine, we both know they can get away with murder if they play their cards right.” Well that was true, but it’s not like murder was as big of a deal in the Isles as on Earth. “Plus, we stormed the Emperor’s Castle, remember? And we have Eda, she’s the most powerful witch alive! If any of your parents show up we’ll send them back where they came from! We can do this together, remember!”

Amity had calmed down, but upon hearing that last time the panic slowly came back. “Luz, you don’t understand. They will come, and when they do there’s nothing any of us can do about it! Besides I can’t stand up to my parents like that! I’m not you, I’m not a fearless hero! I couldn’t even ask you out from Grom! How am I… supposed to...”

Time came to a stop right there and then, the words she had just said settling in. Oh no. Oh this was a nightmare, she did not just confess like that. The two teens stood there, in complete silence. This was bad, she had to get out of there.

“I- This was a mistake, I should just go.” And with that, Amity quickly spun on her heels and rushed to the room’s door, but something grabbed her wrist. The girl turned around, and found Luz grabbing her.

“Amity wait.” The two locked onto each other’s eyes, and Amity could feel one of her trademark blushes rise up on her… well, her entire face. “Did… Did you really want to ask me out for Grom?"

Amity blinked. Was that really what the human girl was worried about? “...yes?”

“And I’m guessing it wasn’t as a friend?”

Amity raised an eyebrow. This wasn’t happening, it had to be a nightmare, or some kind of sick prank. “Of course not!” She yelled, stomping the ground in anger

Luz flinched at the other girl’s anger. “Why?”

Amity’s ears went down, and she tilted her head in confusion. “What?”

“I mean… You could have anyone… Why  _ me _ ? I’m just messy, awkward, chaotic Luz.”

And just like that, the two girls found themselves with their roles reversed. Amity kneeled, bringing herself down to Luz’s eye level. The witch took a deep breath. “That’s why. Because you’re brave, and funny, and kind and- Well, you are  _ you _ .”

Amity sighed, looking at the floor. “Look, I’ve spent years hiding myself, becoming the perfect kid my parents wanted, hanging out with people that bore me at best and then- Then comes in this… This human girl that just… Tears down all these walls I’ve been building for years in my head, that just… wants to be friends with me for the sake of it and- I just- I don’t want to lose you over this, okay?”

Suddenly, Amity was pulled into a hug. The girl let out a yelp as the human squeezed her. And… And was Luz crying? “...Luz? Are you-?

“Yeah, yeah… I just… I never thought crushing on the popular girl would ever work out.”

Amity’s eyes widened, and Titan save her she could swear her blush was spreading through her entire body. “C-Could you… What did you… Does that…”

Luz simply giggled, breaking the hug. “Yes, I like you too.”

And just like that, Amity almost melted into a literal puddle on the floor. And suddenly, maybe just for that night, things would be okay.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, a very satisfied Eda had just become 20 snails richer.

* * *

“Are you sure Eda doesn’t mind us borrowing Owlbert?” 

“Of course not! Besides, she would’ve given us the okay, I just didn’t want to bother her.”

Luz and Amity crossed the night sky, riding on Owlbert. The witch was holding onto Luz, hugging her waist. Whether it was due to fear of falling or because she didn’t want to get away from her new girlfriend fearing it was all some kind of dream was something she’d take to her grave.

The silhouette of Blight Manor finally appeared on the horizon, and first thing they knew they were on Amity’s window. The witchling sighed in relief when she found it hadn’t been locked, and the two quickly slipped in.

“Okay, we’ve come for the bare essentials,understood? I’ll get my clothes, you get my school things.” 

Luz nodded, and the two got to work. Amity looked through her closet, picking a few outfits for the week, meanwhile Luz dug through the other girl’s desk, taking books, notes and everything in between.

The girls then dumped everything on a backpack they had brought with them, which barely managed to fit all of it. Luz moved towards the window, ready to jump back on Owlbert, when a blue light flashed right in front of her. The girl screamed, startled, and stumbled back before crashing against Amity’s desk, causing a lamp to fall on the floor.

“What are you doing?!” Hissed Amity.

“I’m sorry, a light scared me!”

“A light?” Amity looked at the window. A fairy dragon had landed on a tree close to her room. “That was a fairy dragon you idiot.” She said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Luz shrugged with a chuckle.

“Yeah, your idiot.”

“Don’t you dare try to flirt your way out of this, it’s literally been two hours!” Amity had turned red in an instant, menacingly pointing her finger at Luz.

The human shot her a pair of finger guns. “But it did work, you look like a tomato!”

Then the door of the room opened, and the two girls froze in place.

“Mittens?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, in case any of you missed some of that juicy plot last chapter! Turns out the only way for Amity to confess was by accident, huh? As always, leave a kudo and a comment if you liked it!


	8. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that, another early chapter! I just had to solve the cliffhanger :P.
> 
> Edit: Just fixed the chapter title I'm sorry about that lol.

The halls of the castle were in deep silence, guards standing like statues against the walls. Night had already fallen, and the only source of light were torches hanging from the walls, giving the fortress a strange, almost mystical feeling. Odalia Blight supposed that was on purpose, as she made her way to the throne room. Belos himself had requested her presence, and who was she to object?

Finally, she reached the gigantic gates of the throne room. She opened them, decisive. The room before her was enormous, albeit dimly lit by several magical torches. Dozens of pipes sprawled around the wall and ceiling, all leading to the gigantic, green heart of the Titan itself. And right below the heart, the throne, with Emperor Belos sitting in it. Odalia walked forward before standing a few meters away from the throne, then kneeled, looking at the floor.

“I see you’ve made it, Odalia.”

“Yes, sire. What is it you wanted from me?”

“Well, the results of your trial are nothing but outstanding.” This time Belos’ voice came from behind her. “If I am being honest, I doubt any of those charlatans I have as heads of the covens would ever come close to what you accomplished.”

Odalia looked up, and saw Belos towering over her. The Emperor gestured to her to rise up to her feet. Odalia gracefully got up, her facial expressions unreadable. Belos eyed her for a brief second.

“Now of course, we still have to run the trials for everyone else, otherwise they might try something we do not want them to try, don’t you agree?” Odalia nodded, unwavering. Belos had to admit, he was impressed, most other witches would be terrified. They all thought they could hide it, but he could feel their fear. Odalia however? She was a closed book.

“But I digress, the reason you are here is rather simple. The head of the Emperor’s Coven needs to know every kind of magic. And you do not.” Odalia raised an eyebrow. “When Lilith joined the Coven, she was mentored by the former head to be a worthy successor, but as you might understand this is not possible in your case.”

Belos then outstretched his right arm, summoning his staff. Its red orb was glowing bright orange. “As you know, after Lilith’s betrayal I took away her magic. It’s here.” Odalia looked at the sphere. She could feel the raw magic emanating from it.

“Now of course I can’t transfer Lilith’s raw magic to you, your bile sac wouldn’t be able to take the combined magic of two witches. But.” Odalia looked back at Belos’ face. Still no sign of intimidation whatsoever. “I can transfer to you the basis of non-oracle magic. That way your training process will be much more… Streamlined.”

Odalia nodded again. “Yes sire.”

“However.” Odalia frowned, and Belos raised an eyebrow behind his mask. This must have been the first time someone dared to show disappointment in his presence so openly in decades. “Before I transfer you this magical knowledge, you must swear your allegiance to me and my Coven. I cannot allow a single more wild witch in the Isles, especially not one of your power. I’m sure you understand.”

Odalia’s frown disappeared, that sounded logical. “Of course, my Lord.” Belos nodded, and drew a big, white spell circle, then launched it against Odalia. The circle vanished. She was now under oath. “I, Odalia Blight, matriarch of the Blight family, swear my allegiance to you, oh mighty Emperor Belos, and your illustrious Coven, for you are the Titan’s will, and to carry it through will be my new purpose in life. May your wisdom guide me, oh Titan, and allow me to smite your enemies.”

The torches illuminating the room lit up, their previously weak fire now raging wildly. Odalia’s chest gem shone a bright white. Her shoulder emitted a dark purple glow, and her Oracle coven patch stopped working.

“Good.” Belos said once the oath had been sealed. He lowered his stuff, its orb touching Odalia’s forehead. The orange light then flashed before disappearing from the staff. Odalia grunted, kneeling at the sudden surge of magic flowing through her body. She felt Lilith’s power spreading through her body, what felt like static in her fingertips.

Belos looked at her. “You should now be capable of doing basic magic of all kinds, on top of your oracle skills. This does not absolve you from training, however. You will not display your abilities to anyone before the official ceremony, understood?”

Odalia nodded, slowly getting up from the floor. “Yes, my liege.”

“Very well. In that case, you’re dismissed, Odalia.”

* * *

Alador looekd off into the horizon, leaning against the railing of a balcony of the castle. He fidgeted around with his goatee for a bit, entranced by the sun lowering between the massive ribs of the Titan. It had been over a day since his trial, and yet he was still shaken by it. Sure, he still remembered his days at Hexside, but reliving it like that… It had been too much.

He quickly drew a spell circle, summoning his scroll and unlocking it. He went to the gallery, and there he found it, an old photo he had transferred to his scroll after looking through his old things. He couldn’t help but let a smile creep up his face. Eda and him were holding Lilith in the air, the older Clawthorne lifting a rather large golden trophy. Both sisters had their Grugdby uniforms on.

He still remembered that day like it had been yesterday. It was the last match of that year’s season, the match was barely a couple of minutes away from ending and Hexside and the other school were on a stalemate. He was in the stands, cheering for the team like a madman, when Lilith and Eda launched a combined attack that led them to victory. He had almost gone mute with how much he cheered and roared along with the rest of the crowd before summoning a giant abomination arm to  _ launch  _ himself down to the field. And the following night had been nothing but a wild party that lasted for  _ hours _ .

Alador chuckled a bit, gently caressing the scroll, feeling himself choking up with the memories. That was the last match he attended before his parents decided he would marry into the Blight family. He supposed he was content with his current life, but sometimes he couldn’t help but miss those days of wild mischief and high adrenaline that came with the Clawthorne sisters.

“Hello, dear.” Alador quickly unsummoned his scroll, startled by his wife’s voice. “What are you doing out here?”

Alador sighed and turned around. “Nothing, I just needed some fresh air.” He rested his back against the railing. “That room can be so claustrophobic at times, I absolutely loathe it.”

Odalia simply smirked. “That is true, one would expect the Emperor’s castle to have at least a tiny speck of luxury. Our chambers here have nothing on our Manor’s smallest rooms, it’s almost pathetic.”

The woman turned around. “Anyways, I was heading back to our chambers, the test was exhausting. Are you coming, dear?”

Alador briefly glanced at the sunset, then back at his wife. “Yes, it is getting late.” Odalia simply nodded and headed back inside. Alador made to summon his scroll again, but stopped halfway through with a sigh, and followed his wife.

* * *

“Mittens?” Edric poked his head in Amity’s dark room “When did you… get… home…” The boy had now stepped into the room, and the scene he was seeing was certainly not what he had expected. A large backpack with Amity’s clothes and school material in it was laying on the ground. His young sister was frozen in place, finger pointed at Luz, who was significantly paler than usual. The window was wide open, Eda’s staff floating there.

“Ed, is it Ami...ty…” Emira got in the room right after Edric, and now both twins were staring. Time had come to a stop, none of the four daring to make a move. Finally, after what felt like forever, Emira talked.

“Amity? What’s- What’s going on?”

Amity opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She continued trying to say something,  _ anything _ , but no words would come out. The poor girl started to feel choked up, still helplessly trying to talk to no avail, and she felt like she was on the verge of just breaking down into a sobbing mess right there.

“Are… Are you leaving us?” Edric finally asked, sadness apparent in his voice. 

Amity felt tears start to build up in her eyes when something warm grabbed her hand. She looked down, Luz’s hand tightly holding hers. She looked at the human, a reassuring look in her face. The witchling took a deep breath.

“N-No… Not yet- I’m just- I’ll stay over for a week and- After that, I don’t- I just… I don’t want to leave you behind, I didn’t want to worry you, or anger you, or-”

She couldn’t finish her barely coherent stuttering, as she was suddenly pulled into a hug by both of the twins with a yelp, letting go of Luz’s hand.

“No, don’t say that.” Emira said, tightly holding her sister against her. “We may pull pranks on you, but you’re still our baby sister. We just want the best for you.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about us, okay? We still have one another, we’ll be fine.” Edric continued, resting his head against Amity’s hair. “We knew this would happen at some point.” He had choked up when saying that.

“Yeah, just go out there and live your life, Amity.” Emira was now crying, her make-up from her date now running down her face. “We promise we’ll visit you whenever we can, alright?” She said, pressing her forehead against Amity’s.

Amity simply nodded, tears flowing freely now. “If they go looking for you at school we’ll stop them, whatever it takes.” Promised Edric. “We won’t let them hurt you anymore”.

“Thank you” Amity managed to whisper. The three stayed there, hugging each other and unmoving in complete silence, only broken by their sobbing. Slowly, the Blight siblings disentangled their arms, backing away from each other.

Emira wiped her eyes and smiled at the two younger kids. “You should go before the Owl Lady gets worried.”

Amity walked over to Luz, who was as visibly shaken by what had happened as them, and firmly held her hand, gently running her thumb through the human girl’s knuckles. “I’ll miss you two.”

The twins shot the girls a smile. “We’ll miss you too.” They said in unison. Edric grinned, looking at the way Luz and Amity were holding hands. “At least invite us to the wedding, ‘kay?”

Luz went red like a tomato, but Amity simply chuckled. Normally she’d be furious, but… “You’re an idiot, Ed.”

Edric shrugged, and Luz and Amity turned to the window. Amity looked back at her siblings again, giving them a small wave before climbing on Owlbert with the help of Luz. The human prepared to jump on Owlbert when she felt Emira get closer.

“Take care of her for us, alright?”

Luz looked back at Amity, sitting on the staff, then back at Emira. “I will.” And with that, the human girl climbed up to Owlbert, taking off to the night sky and leaving the manor behind. Hopefully forever. 

* * *

Luz woke up to the sound of her phone’s alarm, the early morning sun’s lights entering her room through the window. The human girl yawned, still barely conscious, when she heard a groan behind her. 

Luz rolled her head, finding herself face to face with an incredibly sleepy Amity Blight, who hadn’t even opened her eyes yet. The witch’s pale skin was practically glowing with the early light, her messy green hair all over the place with brown roots running down her head. Luz couldn’t help but smile, entranced by the other girl’s looks. “Morning.” She whispered.

Amity mumbled something in return, eyes still closed shut. Then her ears perked up, and she slowly opened her right eye. And as soon as she recognized who was looking at her drowsiness vanished, eyes wide open and face going red. “L-Luz! What-?!” The witchling shot up, realizing they were on the poor excuse of a mattress Eda had set up for her. Wait, Eda. Right, she was at the Owl House, because she had decided to run away and leave it all behind. And Luz… They weren’t just friends anymore, were they? And she had just pulled away from her new  _ girlfriend _ like she was a hell hound.

“Looks like someone has a serious case of sleep amnesia.” Teased the human, and Amity simply snickered, covering her reddened face with one hand while giving Luz a light shove with the other.

“Shut up.”

Luz simply chuckled at the other girl’s flustering, slowly getting up. “Alright, I’m gonna get dressed in the bathroom, you can change here. Then we’ll get breakfast before King eats all of it.”

Amity simply gave her a shy smile, slowly getting up too. “Alright.” With that, Luz left the room, closing the door behind her. Amity sighed, running her hand through her hair. She could do this, she had stayed over at the Owl House before, hadn’t she? It would all be fine. But this time… It just felt different.

She sighed, walking over to her backpack, digging through her clothes until she found her school uniform and changed into it. She then made to get her hair band to get her hair on its usual ponytail but she stopped. The girl looked at her reflection on the window. New beginning.

Amity finally walked out of the room, apparently right on time for Luz to come out of the bathroom on her own uniform. The human girl froze in place, looking at Amity. Luz felt a blush quickly creep up on her cheeks, blinking twice.

“...is something wrong?” Hesitantly asked Amity.

“Oh no, no, it's nothing!” Luz reassured, raising her hands. “It’s just… You look so cute with your hair down!”

Amity’s ears quickly dropped down, eyes widened and face turning red. “I- I-” The Blight coughed, trying to find her words again. “Let’s head downstairs.”

Luz gave her a smirk, walking over to Amity. “Someone’s flustered!”

“Shut up before I break up with you.”

“You wouldn’t be able to.” Teased Luz, holding Amity’s hand. The witchling sighed, looking at their hands. “You’re right, I wouldn’t” Amity admitted with a smile and Luz shot her her own before both walked down the stairs, fingers interwoven, and got to the living room.

There they found Lilith, sitting down on the couch with a mug of what looked like tea, absentmindedly drinking from it.

“Hi Lilith!” Greeted Luz.

“Good morning, gi-” Lilith lifted her gaze, looking at the couple, and to the two teens' bewilderment Lilith choked on her drink, coughing up a storm. The two teens shared a concerned look, their eyes then slowly drifting to their hands and realizing they were still holding them. Both girls looked at each other again, worry written in their face, before going back to looking at Lilith, who seemed to have gotten her coughing fit under control. Did she somehow not approve of it? It wasn't like her opinion was of great concern, but she was still Amity's old mentor.  


“Lilith?” Luz asked, but Lilith simply raised her right index, still struggling to breathe, and dug through her skirt’s pocket, fishing out what looked like 20 snails, mumbling something.

“Just one second, I… I need to find Edalyn.” Explained the older witch once she recovered her breath before leaving the room. The two teens shared a confused look, but then Luz seemed to connect the dots.

“Were you betting on us getting together?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for today! Phew, that was one heavy chapter, hopefully that ending balanced the angst for the twins scene. As always, kudos and comments are appreciated!


	9. Of Hearts and Lights

“Alright kids, you two better get going.”

Luz and Amity looked at Eda, having barely finished eating breakfast. “But we usually take another 20 minutes!” Luz complained. Amity gave Luz a somewhat scared glance, she still wasn’t used to seeing someone being so bold at complaining to their mother figure, even if she knew that this was  _ Eda _ of all people.

“Yeah, but usually I fly you there with my staff, and that’s not going to happen.” Eda said, crossing her arms.

“What?! Why?!”

“ ‘Cause what’s the point of giving Peppermint here…” She pointed her thumb at Amity, who quickly straightened up out of instinct. Eda gave her a smile, helping the witchling relax. “...a one week trial if she’s seen being carried to school by the Owl Lady of all people? You think momma and papa Blight wouldn’t hear of it?”

Luz raised her index to complain, but she found she had no retort. The girl simply sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

“I’m always right.” Replied Eda with a snort, ruffling the human girl’s hair. “Now get your things and go.” Luz laughed, trying to complain, but Eda walked past her before she could say anything.

“Since when do you care so much about us being late anyways?” Luz yelled at Eda, who had now left the kitchen.

“Since Lily’s stuck up butt is livin’ here with us!” Eda yelled back

“I heard that, Edalyn!”

“I know that, Lily!”

The two teens simply giggled at the sisters’ bickering before looking at each other. Amity fell herself fall on those deep, chocolate brown eyes, shining with the morning sun. The witch felt a wave of calm sweep her body, for the first time in weeks, she didn’t feel flustered around Luz. Quite the opposite, she felt… at peace. All of her worries were gone.

“Your eyes are so pretty.” Luz’s voice pulled her away from her thoughts. And oh, there went that calm. Amity’s cheeks lit up with a blush, ears dropping. “Ha! Looks like I got you beat on the flirting department, Blight!”

“How are you even that good?! Didn’t you say you were a loner back on Earth?” Amity raised her arms in protest, face still red. Luz simply shrugged in response.

“I read a lot of fanfic. And write it.”

Amity blinked before letting out a slow sigh. “Please, please tell me you aren’t using lines from your fics with me.” Luz rubbed the back of her neck with a chuckle, nervously averting her gaze.

“Not all of them…”

Amity rolled her eyes with a groan, although a faint smile managed to sneak in. “You’re such a dork…” Suddenly Luz launched herself against the witch, causing Amity to lose her balance and almost fall with a yelp, only being saved by Luz’ hug keeping her steady.

“Yeah, but I’m your dork now.” Amity blushed a bit, letting out another sigh. “Yeah, you are.”

“You two better stop flirting and get your butts to school!” Yelled Eda’s voice from down the hallway, causing the two girls to quickly disentangle themselves, both going red before looking at each other and laughing.

“Ms. Cla- Eda is right, we should get going” Amity gave Luz a teasing grin, then grasped her hand. Luz raised an eyebrow, and dang was Amity shocked about her sudden ability to keep herself together around that girl. After the quick exchange of looks both finally walked out of the kitchen, fetching their bags in the living room. 

“Bye guys!” Luz yelled. A crash came from upstairs. Amity gave Luz a concerned look, but the human simply shrugged.

“Have fun, kiddos!”

“Ooooh, you’re going to schoool?” Hooty’s voice pierced the air as the door opened. “Man, do I have stories to tell about school!”

“Hooty, you’ve never been to school.”

“Yeah, but I’ve known friends who do! For example, this one ti-” Amity gave the door demon a glare, causing Hooty to shut his beak almost instantly. Luz looked at Hooty wide-eyed, then back to Amity.

“...Okay… Well, we better get going! Bye Hooty!” Luz quickly said, pulling Amty’s arm to walk along. The witchling happily obliged, following the human. The two walked down the path to school in a comfortable silence, taking in each other’s company. The forest was surprisingly calm, the songs of birds and distant calls of various beasts and demons filling the air.

Then a loud screech pierced the air, freezing both girls in their path. The two shared a look, but they soon realized they conveyed very different emotions.

“Wait-” Was all Amity could say before her girlfriend suddenly ran off into the woods, asking her to follow. “Luz! You’ve been on the Boiling Isles for almost two months! You should know you don’t  _ run _ towards the scary monster roars!”

The witchling finally managed to catch up with Luz, although only because she had stopped. They were on a small clearing in the forest, but what drew Amity’s attention was the source of the sounds. A large animal, at least as tall at the hips as Eda and good 23 feet of length was laying there in the ground. Its body was covered in feathers, white on the back and black on its underside. A wattle adorned the top of its head, which had a gray, scaly snout and deep purple eyes. It had a pair of sickle-like claws on its feet, one of which had a hunting trap clamped around it, and its wings were like those of a bat’s. A cockatrice.

The beast hissed at the girls, showing off its teeth and puffing its neck feathers, but what worried Amity were its eyes. One shine and they would be turned to stone right in the spot. The witchling grabbed Luz’s wrist and pulled. “Luz, let’s get out of here.”

“But she’s hurt, we have to help her!”

“She?”

“Males have red snouts and bigger wattles, says so in my Beast Keeping guide. But that’s besides the point, we must help her!” And with that, Luz freed herself of Amity’s worried grasp, slowly walking towards the beast. “Hey buddy, it’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The cockatrice hissed again, flapping its wings. Luz slowly reached for her bag, causing the animal to tense up even more. Amity was about to jump in and tackle Luz out of the way when the human girl raised her hand, signaling her to stop. She then slowly dug something out of the bag. “Hey, it’s okay, look what I got.”

The cockatrice’s neck feathers suddenly went down, making its figure more streamlined. The animal audibly huffed, smelling the air. Luz slowly brought her hand towards its snout, eliciting a low growl from the cockatrice. “Okay, okay, you take the lead.” Luz then slowly lowered her hand, resting a pair of brown spheres close to the cockatrice’s head. The creature eyed Luz with suspicion, and slowly took one on its jaws before swallowing it whole.

“How?” Amity asked, still a healthy distance away.

“Our Beast Taming teacher told us to always have kibbles with us just in case.” Luz answered with a shrug. “Do you think you could use an abomination to free her leg?”

“What?! I’m not getting close to those claws!” Amity yelled. The cockatrice snapped its head in her direction, growling. Amity pinned her ears down, stepping back in fear. Luz quickly dug out another kibble and placed it next to the cockatrice.

“Easy, easy, here, take another one.” The beast looked at it, seemingly calming down, and ate it up again. Luz sighed, relieved, and looked at Amity. “Pretty please?” She asked, putting on her best puppy eyes. Amity blushed and let out a groan.

“You’re gonna get us killed.” She mumbled, cautiously making her way to the cockatrice’s leg. The girl took a deep breath. “This is a terrible idea. This is mad.” She kept mumbling, drawing a spell circle and summoning an abomination. “Abomination… Free this thing’s leg.” Amity seemed to think something over for a second. “Be gentle.”

The gooey creature groaned ever so obedient, and slowly forced the trap open. The cockatrice was too busy eating kibbles to notice, but as soon as it felt its leg freed it quickly stood up, startling the girls. The animal slowly lifted and lowered its leg, checking on it, only to turn to Amity. The girl froze, seeing the animal turning to face her and only then did she notice how absolutely massive it was. It leaned its head down, snout at the same height as Amity’s face. Then it took a sniff, let out a deep chirp and turned around, taking flight and disappearing in the sky.

Amity felt her legs give away, and was caught right in time by Luz. “Woah there, be careful!”. Amity simply blinked, slowly taking in what had just happened. Then she realizes she was being held by Luz and blushed once more.

“Says the one that decided to approach a wild cockatrice!”

“Hey, we’re both in one piece, aren’t we? I’d say it was a success!”

Amity simply shook her head. “You’re gonna be the end of me.”

* * *

Hexside’s main entrance stood a few meters away from the girls, both of them on the path leading to it. Luz looked over at Amity, who seemed hesitant to continue. She squeezed her hand.

“You okay there?” Amity gave Luz a shy smile.

“Yeah, it’s just…” She looked down at their hands, intertwined. Luz followed her gaze, and probably for the first time in a while she consciously noticed they had been holding hands. Realization hit her like a truck.

“We don’t have to… Be public about it yet if you don’t want to.” The human girl slowly let go of Amity’s hand, but the witch was quick to catch it again.

“N-no, I just…” Amity blushed ever so slightly, then took a deep breath. “This would happen eventually, let’s just get this over with.” The pair shared a smile, and finally walked over to the school. Amity became hyper aware of everyone around them, seeing every witch looking at the duo, hearing them whispering. Although she could feel some people’s judgemental tone, most of them sounded really unsurprised, as if they had been waiting for this scene to play out at some point and oh Titan had she really been that obvious? To be fair, the entire school had seen their dance during Grom, but still.

Then the voices went quiet all of the sudden. “Well what do we have here?” Amity felt her face go red in anger, her neck quickly snapped in the direction of the voice. Boscha, face ever so smug, was leaning against a corner. Skara and the other girls were standing behind her, however they didn’t look remotely similar to Boscha. They were worried.

“What do you want, Boscha?” Hissed Amity, Luz’s grip tightening, trying to calm her down.

Boscha raised an eyebrow. “You know, I thought you had really sunk low when you decided to help half-a-witch Willow. But… this?” She moved her right hand up and down, signaling the couple. “This is so sad it’s almost laughable. Are you seriously dating that… thing?”

Amity finally seemed to lose her composure, letting go of Luz and stomping towards her former friend. The Blight pointed her finger menacingly to Boscha. “Don’t you dare speak of her like that.”

Boscha smirked. “Now, now, not so fast, Blight. I’m just saying, it’d be a shame if your parents took notice of this, wouldn’t it?”

“What in the Titan’s name are you talking about?”

Boscha quickly summoned her scroll, levitating it in front of Amity. “I’m talking about this.” Amity’s face suddenly went completely pale, eyes widening in shock. Before her, a photo of her and Luz holding hands and walking down the hallway with faint blushes in their faces.

“No…”

“Oh yes, took this right when you walked in. Would be a shame if this made its way to my parents, and then to yours, wouldn’t it, Amity?”

Amity just stood there, mouth flapping but no sound coming out. She felt her hands shaking uncontrollably, breath unstable. Boscha wouldn’t do that, she wouldn’t go that far. She couldn’t go that far.

“You know, after humiliating me during the Grudgeby match, I’d say this is good payback.”

“Wait, this is all about a stupid game?!” Suddenly yelled Luz, in visible disbelief.

“Shut it round ears, or you’ll regret it.”

Amity wanted to defend Luz, but she couldn’t. She felt her head spinning, out of breath, almost like she was about to puke. Boscha was serious, she’d send it to her parents, they'd come to the school and drag her back to the Manor, cut her ties with Luz, fling her back to her old life-

Boscha suddenly screamed, pulling Amity out of her spiraling thoughts, and she found that Boscha’s scroll had turned into a small charcoal lizard with neon blue scutes running down its back, had bitten its owner and was now running down the hallway to… Edric, with Emira standing right next to him. The lizard quickly climbed up Ed’s uniform until it was perched on his shoulder. The boy scratched its chin before a poof of light blue smoke turned it back to a scroll.

“My oh my Emira, look at this photo!”

“Dang, that’s quite the composition, isn’t it dear brother? I really like the lighting.”

“Yes, it is quite good, but what about the framing? My, my!” Edric did a chef kiss. “Simply mind blowing! Would be a shame if someone deleted it, wouldn’t it? Oops!” Ed tapped the scroll, and just like that the image was gone. Boscha gasped in anger and stomped towards the twins.

“What do you clowns think you are doing?! Give me back my scroll, my parents will know about this!” Ed simply rubbed his chin, a faux thoughtful expression plastered on his face.

“Hmm, I don’t think you will.”

“What makes you think I won’t?!”

Edric gave the girl a sly grin, the one he only showed when he was about to pull his best pranks. “Well, it would be a shame if the photo of a certain potion track student being beaten in a fight by half-a-witch Willow” he said that last part with air quotes “became public.” Boscha simply blinked in confusion.

“That… That never happened.”

“Oh yeah?” This time it was Emira who spoke, drawing a quick spell circle. An illusory photo of Boscha trapped in vines with Willow in the background materialized. “Then what is this I have in my hands?”

“Th-that’s only an illusion, it’ll just poof out of-” Boscha suddenly went pale, seeing the illusory image being suddenly transferred to Emira’s scroll.

“You were saying?”

“That’s- That’s not going to work! It’s fabricated!”

The twins gasped in unison. “Have I heard right, dear brother?”

“I think you have, my dearest sister! Sounds like someone…”

Both twins leaned in and spoke in unison “...accused the Blight heirs of lying and fabrication.”

Boscha went even paler and tried to come up with some retort, but nothing came. Edric suddenly tossed her scroll back, the girl barely managed to catch it.

“Now, scatter.” Sentenced Ed, quickly waving his hand up and down. Boscha huffed, humiliated once again, and quickly stormed off. The other students present in the hall stared stunned, but one quick glare from the Blight duo sent everyone in motion again. The message was clear, no one was to mess with Amity or Luz.

The twins then walked over the couple, Luz had taken Amity into a tight hug, trying to calm the poor girl down. “You don’t have to worry about her anymore, I think we gave her enough of a scare.”

Luz gave them a grateful look, and Amity managed to let a choked “thank you” out.

“Anytime, sis.” Ed gave Amity a brotherly smile, then the bell screaming echoed through the halls. Emira sighed.

“Looks like we have to go. Will you be alright?”

Amity nodded with a sniffle, and wiped her tears with her sleeve, still not letting go of Luz. “Since when do you care so much about class?” Asked the younger Blight with a weak smile.

Edric looked at Emira with a smirk. “Since we share the next class with Viney.”

Emira blushed, giving her twin brother a death glare. The two younger girls chuckled, softening Em’s expression. The twins then said their goodbyes, leaving the girls alone. Amity slowly separated herself from Luz, taking a deep breath.

“We should go to class.”

Luz grimaced, she wouldn’t share a class with Amity for a few hours, and she didn’t want to leave the girl alone after what had happened. “You gonna be okay?”

Amity nodded, holding Luz’s hand and squeezing it. “Yeah, don’t worry.” The two finally separated, and both went on with their day. Classes felt especially slow that day for her, Luz’s absence more present than ever, then lunch came. The witch all but sprinted to the cafeteria, where she found Luz had already seated with Willow and Gus. The duo seemed happy for the new couple, although Willow didn’t let the opportunity of teasing Amity pass.

After that the remaining classes were general ones shared by all tracks and an abomination class shared with Luz, which helped to make the rest of the morning speed by. And then, school finally ended, and the two girls headed back to the Owl House, luckily for Amity no monster encounters on the way back.

The two were greeted by Hooty, as always trying to tell them an anecdote about some bug he had just met, and once they got indoors Amity headed upstairs first to get changed while Luz greeted Eda.

She dug through her bag, fishing out her usual outfit of a short black dress and orchid leggings, but when she retrieved her gemstone necklace she hesitated. It had been a gift from her mother when she was a little girl. She sighed, and put it back in the bag, then changed into her casual clothes.

She went back downstairs to the living room and was greeted with a “hey kid” from Eda. The Clawthorne sisters were sitting on the couch, Eda fiddling with some kind of plastic square with different colors, some kind of toy from the human realm, while Lilith simply read a book.

“Hi, Miss Cla- Eda.” Amity quickly corrected herself, mentally berating herself for still falling to that old habit around Eda. The Owl lady snorted, seemingly amused. “How was school? Luz was bouncing with excitement but well, she’s Luz, so…”

Amity chuckled, that sounded about right. “It was…” The memory of what happened with Boscha hung heavy over Amity’s head, how she had frozen in fear in front of everybody, looking weak and pathetic. “Fine.”

Eda hummed, seemingly satisfied with her answer and still trying to solve her cubic puzzle, but Lilith looked at the girl. She hadn’t been that close to her protéégé, but over time she had started to pick up on clues. “Are you sure?”

Amity seemed to deflate, looking at the floor. “We ran into Boscha and she… Well, she acted like Boscha.”

“Ain’t that the tricyclops girl?” Eda asked, trying to put a face on that name. Then her eyes widened “Luz told me about her! Kid, I swear to the Titan if that shi-” A disapproving glance from Lilith “that idiot dares even touch a hair on any of your heads”.

Amity quickly raised her arms defensively. “No, no, it’s fine, really. Besides, the twins were around and-”

“Oh, then there is nothing to worry about, Edalyn.” Lilith said with a grin. Eda raised an eyebrow, she hadn’t really interacted with the Blight twins that much but if Lilith said there was nothing to worry about she guessed it was true.

“By the way, where's Luz?” Suddenly asked Amity, looking around. Eda and Lilith shared a knowing grin.

“What, missin’ your girlfriend already, kid?” Amity’s ears dropped down, her face turning red. “Don’t worry about it, I sent her to run some errands, shouldn’t take her too long. Make yourself home, it is yours now after all.”

Amity wanted to say it was only for a week for now, but she didn’t say anything, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be a week. “I’ll be in our room, I have to do some homework.”

Eda groaned at the mere mention of that work, eliciting a chuckle from her older sister. “Fine, go be the responsible student I guess.” Amity nodded and turned to the hallway, ready to go to her room when Eda stopped her. 

“Hold on a sec, almost forgot.” Amity turned to Eda with a curious look, and she saw the Owl Lady drawing a light blue spell circle in the air. The circle connected, and a cloud of light blue smoke emerged from Amity’s hair. She took some of her loose hair on her hand and… Brown, not green.

“If you’re staying with us you’re getting the whole package. We’ll get the dye washed off if you decide to stay.” Eda explained. “Lily is pretty good at that whole hair dye thing.”

Amity started to feel tears building up in the corner of her eyes. “I… Thank you.”

Eda gave her a warm smile. “No problem, kid.”

* * *

“She’s taking too long!” Amity was pacing around the living room, worry visible in her face. Eda was sitting on a chair while drinking apple blood, Lilith was still deep in her reading. “What if something happened to her?! She’s so reckless, Titan knows she would try to pet a dragon if she found one.”

Eda snorted. “Yeah, sounds like our Luz. Don’t worry kid, she’ll be fine. She’s strong.”

Amity grimaced. “Yeah but it’s getting dark! What if a monster ambushed her? What if some thugs got the drop on her?.” She stopped dead on her tracks. “What if… What if the Emperor’s Coven caught her?”

“Amity is right, Edalyn. I know the hu- Luz can be unpunctual, but if night falls she could be in danger.”

Eda shot Lilith a glare. “Oh, you’re the one to talk about Luz being in danger.”

Lilith’s eyes widened in shock, and she slouched, hiding behind her book in shame. Eda sighed. “Alright, I guess you two do have a point. Kid, go look for her, I gotta get dinner ready. She should be collecting Moon Flowers, I think there are some around that huge tree you two made during your little dance.”

Amity blushed ever so slightly at that comment, but quickly dismissed the feelings spawned by that memory, rushing out of the house, towards the Grom tree. By the time the witchling got there, the sun was starting to set. There she found Luz, leaning against the tree. And perched on a branch, around 13 feet above her…

“Luz, watch out, above you!” The witch quickly drew a spell circle, summoning an abomination and drawing the animal’s curious purple eyes on her.

The human simply looked up, seeing a cockatrice resting over her head, and her eyes widened. “Wait Amity, no! It’s just Azura!”

“...what? Did… Did you get some weird potion at the Night Market or something?”

“No? The night market isn’t even open yet.”

Amity blinked, confused. She then looked at the cockatrice and the realization hit her like a carriage. “Is that… The cockatrice from this morning?”

“Yes, she found me a few hours ago and started following me around, I think she bonded with me.”

Amity’s abomination collapsed into a puddle, and the poor girl barely managed to keep her cool. “And… You named it.”

“Well, yeah. But anyways, there’s something I want to show you.” Luz extended her hand to Amity. The other girl looked at it, then at the cockatrice resting over their heads, and then at Luz’s hand. She sighed and took it.

The human smiled at her and guided her to the other side of the tree. Amity tried to ignore the sound of shuffling coming from over them, no doubt “Azura” following them. That thought soon abandoned her mind, however, as she found herself facing the ocean, the sun slowly setting over the horizon and several of Luz’s light glyphs floating in the air.

“I know we technically did end up going to Grom together, but I know it probably wasn’t how you were hoping for it to go.” Luz squeezed Amity’s hand, giving her a smile. “So, I wanted to make it up to you.”

Amity felt her entire face go a deep red. “Luz, I… You didn’t have to…”

“Pfft, nonsense, it'll be fun! Besides, after what happened this morning you deserve it. Hold on a sec.” And with that, Luz walked over to the base of the tree, where her phone and a wireless speaker she had found among Eda’s human junk rested. Luz scrolled through a bunch of songs she had downloaded. A slow guitar started playing, and the human girl headed back to Amity.

“This is a song my mamá used to sing a lot to me.” She said with a fond smile, before extending her hand to Amity in the most exaggerated way possible. “Amity Blight, may I have this dance?”

Amity chuckled, taking Luz’s hand. “You may.” The two girls blushed with a giggle, then took each other’s hands. Amity was the one to pull Luz closer, as she had done during Grom, but it was Luz who took the lead. The two girls gently swayed between the various light orbs, their warm golden light gently illuminating their reddened faces. 

Amity felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, all of her worries and anxieties suddenly vanishing as if the only beings in the entire universe were the two of them, dancing to a sweet and melodic song in a language she couldn’t understand. Everything felt just about perfect.

The song ended, and Luz let Amity fall back, holding her back and finishing off the dance. The human girl was unsure where the heck those moves had even come from, but that’s not something she’d admit out loud. The two looked at eachother, the sound of waves crashing against the cliff. They closed their eyes, almost on instinct, and leaned closer. Then…

_ Bonk _

The two girls pulled back, painfully rubbing their foreheads, although Luz was in visible panic. “Oh my God Amity I’m so sorry! I completely messed up and ruined the moment, ugh I’m such a mess! I had everything planned to perfection, but then I had to screw it up like I always-”

Luz was suddenly pulled towards Amity, and the witch all but awkwardly smashed their lips together. Luz all but froze in place, taken by surprise, before finally relaxing and returning the kiss. Sure, it was awkward, and messy, but for them it felt perfect. And from a tree branch, a pleased coo was let out at the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow was this a long one, and pure Lumity fluff at that! And not only that, but I also have illustrations of Azura the Cockatrice to boot!:  
>   
> 
> 
> Huge thanks to [Fang](https://twitter.com/Fang83768513) for the drawings, he usually does dinosaur art but he also likes The Owl House and he did me a huge solid with this. I hope you liked this, leave a kudo and a comment if you did!


	10. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm publishing early again, eh?

“Attention, my most trusted subordinates! I am pleased to announce that the Titan has graced us with a chosen witch sooner than we expected!”

The entire council room bursted into a barely contained chaos of whispers, jabs and hostile gazes. Everyone was speculating on who would be announced, of course each member thought they would be the ones chosen, and hoped so. Except for two, the Blight marriage. Alador looked about as passive and done with the entire universe as always, and Odalia was simply sitting there, eerily quiet. As if she knew the results. This didn’t go unnoticed to her husband, who eyed her suspiciously for a brief moment.

Belos loudly cleared his voice, sending the entire room into silence again. The Emperor grinned under his mask, scanning every single member. They all showed fear, at least in their own ways. Amelia, the head of the plant coven, would fidget around with her hair, for example. But one stood out, Odalia Blight didn’t even flinch and remained immaculately seated. Her lack of fear could turn… problematic in the long run, but she was still fit in his eyes.

“The Titan has declared that the one deemed to lead the Emperor’s Coven and serve directly under my wing will be Odalia Blight, from the Oracle Coven!”

All gazes turned to Odalia, who grinned smugly, chin held up high in the air with pride. Whispers filled the room once again before being silenced by Belos, summoning his staff. The orb glowed red with sheer magical power, and with a snap of Belos’ fingers the entire scene changed around them.

Everything wrapped around them, everything being seemingly sucked into Belos’ staff. The witches found themselves in a pure, weightless void for a brief second before another room blurted out of the Emperor’s staff. And just like that, everyone was seated on pews, around six rows of seats, three on each side of a passageway, leading to a large circular area surrounded by tall, ominous torches that shone with a purple fire. On its center laid a large bowl with a green liquid, similar to that used for the test. Belos was standing behind it. “Come forth, Odalia.”

The Blight matriarch nodded solemnly, and slowly walked towards the Emperor, each step taken with extreme elegance and care, as if she had trained all of her life for that day. Alador couldn’t help but think she probably had. When the woman finally reached her designated spot, she kneeled. Belos nodded, a white cape materializing around Odalia’s shoulders.

“Rise, Odalia.” Belos commanded, and Odalia gracefully stood up. The two shared a look, Belos trusted Odalia would remember what she had pledged two days prior, when he transferred Lilith’s magic to her. “Odalia Blight, if you are to serve under my command, you must pledge your allegiance.

Odalia nodded. “I, Odalia Blight, matriarch of the Blight family, swear my allegiance to you, oh mighty Emperor Belos, and your illustrious Coven, for you are the Titan’s will, and to carry it through will be my new purpose in life. May your wisdom guide me, oh Titan, and allow me to smite your enemies.” 

Belos sank his thumb on the bowl of green liquid as soon as Odalia started speaking, and then slowly drew the sigil of the Emperor’s Coven in her forehead while she recited the oath. By the time she was done speaking, the symbol on her forehead emitted a golden light. “I, Emperor Belos, hereby declare you head of the Emperor’s Coven. May you lead with justice and determination, and may you squash the enemies of the Titan’s will. Glory be to the Titan.”

“Glory be to the Titan.” Repeated the room, in unison. Odalia let a smirk crawl up on her face, everything was going as she had always dreamed. This was her moment.

After the ceremony finished, Belos dismissed them all, citing important paperwork to finish before Odalia could truly join their ranks, and sent them back to their homes. The Blight couple made their way to their flying boat, Odalia walking with her head high with pride and a smug smile, Alador with his blank, emotionless stare, wishing to simply go back to his studio and relax for the first time in five days.

However, as soon as they climbed up into their boat, Odalia made it abundantly clear she would not give him a moment of peace until they arrived. And so, Odalia spent the entire way back gloating about how she obviously deserved such a high honor, how it was about time the Blight family got the recognition they deserved, about how she’d take the Emperor’s Coven on the right path and just pure self indulgent boasts. By the time the manor finally came into view Alador let out a sigh of relief.

He gracefully got out of the boat after it landed, lending his hand to Odalia to help her out, although he knew very well she didn’t need any help, he suspected she’d chastise him about ‘proper manners’.

The two made their way to the main gates of the mansion, Alador being the one to open them. “Children, we have returned!” He yelled, making their presence be known. He took out his coat, and with a swift spell circle it was magically sent to his wardrobe. He turned to Odalia. “If you are in need of my assistance I shall be in my studio, I want to verify if this week’s files have been sent correctly to my desk.”

Odalia simply nodded. “Very well, I will go upstairs and announce the news to our children. I am sure they will be thrilled to hear our family has ascended so gloriously. Especially Amity.” Alador simply nodded back, and retreated to his private studio.

The man walked over to his desk, sinking on his chair. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and looked over to the pile of papers on his desk. It looked… Surprisingly thin, all things considered, someone at the coven must have covered for him in the meantime, he really needed to find out who. And yet, he felt too tired to sign everything himself, and really wanted some time for himself, so he drew a spell circle, and an abomination was summoned to sign the papers for him.

However, the peace didn’t last long, as around ten minutes later he heard the door of his studio being opened wide. He lifted his gaze, expecting to scold one of his children for interrupting him, but instead he found Odalia, a look of… panic in her face. Odalia never showed panic, something was terribly wrong. He quickly got up from his seat, walking over to his wife.

“Dear, what’s...?” He couldn’t finish his sentence, a single word interrupted him.

“Amity.”

* * *

“Coming!” Eda yelled from upstairs, annoyed. Someone had been banging at the door rather loudly for a while, and for whatever reason Hooty had decided to do nothing about it. He huffed in exasperation, the two kids had left a few hours prior, saying Luz wanted to train that cockatrice she had somehow tamed on her own and of course the Blight kid followed. Lilith had left too, looking for ingredients for potions. Ever since the elder Clawthorne had moved to the Owl House, she had been selling potions on Eda’s stand, her way to contribute to the household with her magic gone.

Of course, that left Eda with moments when she was completely home alone, save for King, who was currently yelling orders to his “army” in some room of the house. The banging continued, and it sounded like someone was about to break the door down. Eda angrily opened it. “What in the Titan’s name is going o-?!”

Before her stood a tall man, brown hair slicked back and a goatee on his chin. His eyes were full of rage, fists clenched so tight it was a miracle he hadn’t drawn blood on his hands. Alador Blight.

Eda frowned, her bored expression dissipating in a matter of seconds. “What are you doing here.” She dryly said, more like a statement than a question.

“Where is my daughter.” Alador took a step forward, murder in his eyes. Eda outstretched her hand, Owlbert swiftly flying to her. She took a step back, getting ready to attack.

“Take one step closer and I swear to the Titan they’re going to find what’s left of you scattered through the entire Isles.”

The two all but bared their teeth like rabid dogs. “Edalyn, I do not have time for this. Give me back my child.”

“She left like two hours ago.” Eda raised her staff, pointing her palisman right at Alador. “And even if she were here, I wouldn’t let you get anywhere near her.”

Alador blinked, taking in what Eda had just said. “I knew you had become a criminal, but I’d never thought you’d go as far as kidnapping a child and lying to her father about it, you rotten trash slug.”

“Kidnapping a-? What are you talking about, you pompous asshole?!” Her grip on the staff tightened, her already pale knuckles going pure white. “Besides, you say I’ve stooped low?! Last I checked I wasn’t the one who turned her back to her lifelong best friend during the worst moment of their life for a rich, condescending girl who treated her like a nuisance at best, was I?!” The wild witch felt tears starting to build up in the corner of her eyes. It had been over 20 years, but the wound now felt fresh, seeing him again. “You’re just another backstabbing rich asshole!”

Alador took another step closer. “You don’t know what you’re talking abo-” An orange blast of sheer magical energy hit him in the chest before he could finish, launching him several feet backwards, away from the house.

“I told you not to take another step closer.”

Alador groaned, getting up from the ground. He scrubbed his shoulder, getting rid of some dirt, and outstretched his arm. A bronze colored staff materialized in his grasp, its top adorned by a snake coiled around it, resting its head on top of the staff. The man drew a purple spell circle, an abomination raising behind him.

Eda frowned, drawing her own spell circle and summoning an abomination herself. “You can’t even imagine how much I’ve waited for the day I get to beat your rich face into oblivion.”

Alador smirked. “An abomination duel? Very well.”

Eda launched herself at top speed towards Alador, hovering over the ground and her abomination following right behind. Alador mimicked her move, both witches rushing towards one another like high speed cars. The man’s abomination quickly sped past him, launching its fist at Eda’s face.

Eda’s abomination quickly got between her and Alador’s, blocking the punches with its forearms. Eda’s abomination then quickly counterattacked with a powerful kick, trying to destroy the gooey creature to get to its master, but Alador’s took the hit.

Eda frowned and launched herself into the air, her abomination following her, and dropped down on Alador, her abomination trying to do a chop with its arm. The man’s summoning quickly reacted, blocking the abomination’s attack with its right elbow while expanding its left arm over Alador, forming an elastic cover over his head that absorbed Eda’s own attack and caused her to bounce off.

The Owl Lady landed on her feet behind her abomination. If she couldn’t flank Alador’s creature, then she’d have to tear it down. Her abomination let out a groan, and a quick barrage of punches fell onto Alador’s abomination, arms moving at such a speed it looked like the creature had grown a dozen different arms.

Eda’s confident grin suddenly dissipated when Alador’s abomination threw an attack rush of his own, fists colliding with each other in perfect sync, pounding with such a strength they sounded like small explosions until both threw a pair of punches with the same strength and speed, locking the abominations’ knuckles together.

“I have to admit, you’re not half bad for a potions track.” Alador told her.

“I’m a wild witch, I’ve learned all kinds of magic. Unlike you.”

“Indeed you have.” A grin crept on Alador’s face. “Jack of all trades, master of none.”

Before Eda could react, she felt something wrapping around her ankle and throwing her into the ground. She looked down, realizing she had been standing on a puddle of abomination goo coming from Alador’s abomination, which suddenly sprouted an extra pair of arms, sticking them on the chest of Eda’s abomination. And to her horror, Alador’s abomination pulled hers closer, smashing both figures together and absorbing hers into his. The abomination let out a feral roar, doubling its size with the newly acquired mass. Oh this was bad.

The abomination raised its now gigantic fists, ready to smash Eda like a bug, and she barely had enough time to summon a protective shield before it could do just that. She then quickly burned the gooey tendril holding her down, and holding onto Owlbert flew out of the way.

She flew over Alador and his abomination, noticing the goo had spread on the ground in a circle, the abomination on its center. So landing back was out of the question, she’d have to fight from above. Very well.

Eda jumped off Owlbert, levitating besides him, and grabbed the staff in her hand. Alador looked up at her, sending her a death glare. The abomination raised its arm, and its fist suddenly launched up towards her, its arm stretching behind it. She yelped, quickly evading the hit, and threw a large fireball at Alador.

A protective cube of abomination goop quickly formed and solidified around him, absorbing the blasts. Suddenly, Alador was sent flying out of his protective cube, flung out by a root manipulated by Eda. Alador’s abomination dissolved into the ground’s goo, quickly reappearing right in time to catch its master.

The abomination then reached out to a nearby tree, one of its four arms becoming even bigger and grasping it. Eda’s eyes widened before being hit by an entire tree, uprooted and thrown at her like a javelin. Witch and plant crossed the air in an arc before crashing down several feet away. Eda groaned, slowly getting up with the help of her staff when…

“Eda?” Eda’s head snapped on the direction of the voice. Luz and Amity were standing before her, the cockatrice between them. Oh no. “Eda watch out!” Suddenly yelled Luz, and Eda raised her staff just in time to split a tree in half, standing right between the pieces, unharmed.

“Don’t get any closer!” Eda warned, still dodging trees.

“Why?! Is it the Emperor’s Cov-”

An abomination goo tendril suddenly snapped at Eda, the goop having reached her, and wrapped itself around her foot, lifting her in the air. She yelped and cast a spell, a Hooty-like structure raising from the ground and launching itself towards the tendril, ready to bite it off before Alador’s abomination rose from the goop and caught it, tearing it off the ground and smashing it with its three other hands.

This proved to be a distraction, as Eda cut the tendril off herself with her staff and flew back to where Alador was, the abomination following close behind.

That was when Luz noticed Amity had tensed up after seeing the abomination. The witch’s face had gone pale, as if she had seen a ghost. Although Luz guessed that expression didn’t carry that much meaning in the Boiling Isles. “Am? What’s wrong? Don’t worry, she’ll be fine! It’s not the first time she faces the Coven.”

“That… That wasn’t the Emperor’s Coven.”

“What do you mean?” 

“That abomination… It’s my father’s.”

Meanwhile, Eda had returned to where Alador was, hovering for him. “Give it up Alador, before I do something I might end up regretting!”

“Bold words for someone who just got hit by a tree!”

Eda sighed. “Let’s end this.” She drew a spell circle, a bottle with a greyish liquid in it appearing in her hand. She threw it next to Alador, and it exploded into a large cloud of smoke on impact. Alador coughed, covering his face with his arm. When the smoke dissipated, he couldn’t help but chuckle. He was surrounded by Eda clones from every angle.

“You really can’t teach an old dog new tricks, huh?”

The abomination outstretched its four arms, and started shooting its  _ fists _ , like some kind of humanoid machine gun, hitting every clone. And then, to Alador’s surprise, every single Eda poofed out of existence. She was gone.

Something suddenly hit the back of his knee, causing him to kneel with a groan of pain and drop his staff. He then felt a pressure in his neck, and Eda’s staff slowly became visible right before his very eyes, holding him in a chokehold.

“Take a closer look at your abomination.” Said a voice right behind him. Alador’s eyes went wide in horror, seeing a glyph had been drawn on the abomination’s chest.

And then, a pebble levitated towards it, tapping the symbol. Just like that, the abomination and all the goop extending from its feet collapsed on itself, creating a massive orb of light that quickly disappeared. 

A group of owl tubes quickly erupted from the ground, coiling themselves around Alador and holding him tight. There was no escape. Eda slowly walked around him before stopping face to face with the man, a smug grin from ear to ear. She kneeled, resting Owlbert under his chin.

“But better than a master of none.” Owlbert’s eyes started glowing with a golden light. Alador glanced down at his enemy’s staff, ready to blast him into kingdom come and tried to escape. Nothing, he was trapped. He looked up at Eda once more, her eyes filled with rage and anticipation

“You wouldn’t have the nerve.”

“Try me.”

“Eda, wait!” Eda looked in the direction of the new voice, and saw Amity, Luz and Azura running in their direction. The animal had its feathers ruffled, and Luz was desperately trying to stop it from petrifying everyone.

“Kids?! What are you doing?! I told you to stay away!”

Amity was the first to get to Eda, panting heavily from the run. “Eda please, don’t.”

“What’s up with that, kid? You’ve been telling us how terrible your parents are for weeks.”

“I know! But…” Amity looked at her father. His hair was a mess, his mouth was gagged by one of the Hooty clones and his eyes were burning with a mix of anger and confusion. “...He’s still my father. Please, just… let me talk to him.”

Eda eyed Alador down before looking back at Amity with a sigh. She got up, Owlbert’s eyes losing their shine. “Alright kid, but I’m keeping him trapped. I don’t trust him one bit.”

Amity nodded, then felt something holding her hand. She looked to her left, and saw Luz, giving her a concerned look. “Don’t worry, I… I think I need this.”

Eda sighed and stepped back, the Hooty clone covering his mouth retreating. The man gasped, and looked at Amity. “You better explain yourself, young lady.”

Amity felt the hairs of the back of her neck raise with his words, squeezing Luz’s hand even tighter. Her father’s voice had been cold, almost like an ultimatum, she had almost forgotten how that felt. “I-”

She briefly looked over to Eda, who was still gripping her staff. She then looked behind her, over one thousand pounds of feathery rage ready to jump at her father. She was safe, there was nothing he could do to her now. Deep breath.

“I’m home.”

Alador blinked in confusion. That was when the scene finally hit him. Amity, his Amity, was holding hands with the infamous human, a  _ cockatrice _ behind them ready to turn him into stone and… Amity’s hair dye was gone, her formerly green hair now a shiny bronze, not unlike his own. “What…”

“I said I’m home!” Amity suddenly yelled, startling Azura, who was promptly calmed down by Luz before anything could go south. “Luz, Eda, Lilith and even King and Hooty have been a better family for me in five days than you or mother have for my entire life!” The witchling stomped the ground, tears of frustration and anger building up. “They actually care about me! They don’t want little miss perfect, they want me! Amity! They actually love me!”

Amity’s grip on Luz’s hand relaxed, rubbing the back of the human’s hand with her thumb. The witch’s hand was shaking, and a slight blush appeared in her face as she looked at her girlfriend. “In more ways than one…” Her gaze returned to her father, determination in her eyes contradicting her shaky hands. “So if you want me to come with you, you’ll have to take me by force!”

Alador felt his head spinning, a million thoughts racing through his mind and crashing into each other in a chaotic mess. However, only one thought was capable of drowning out the rest. Her hair. He let out a tired sigh. “Alright, if that’s what you wish, you shall stay here.”

Everyone simply stood there, stunned. Complete silence filled the scene, everyone processing what just had happened. Surely, this had to be a trick, right? There was no way it would be this easy.

“W… What?” Amity finally managed to say, barely a whisper.

“It’s evident this is your place. I… I’m sure Edalyn will be able to train you. As much as I hate to say this… I knew this day would come.”

Amity and Eda shared a confused look, the Owl Lady slowly releasing Alador from his trap. The man groaned, reaching for his staff and slowly getting up. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to fix it somewhat, and gave his daughter a hesitant look. “Do not, however, think even for a second your mother will be as lenient as me. She will come after you.”

This time it was Luz who spoke up, pulling Amity into a side hug while gently resting her hand on Azura’s head. The witchling let out a yelp, and the beast let out a low rumble. “And we will be waiting!” Alador raised an eyebrow, and Luz quickly shrank under his intimidating gaze. A small smirk crawled on his face, she was the spitting image of Eda. Speaking of…

“I assume you won’t let me go that easily.”

“As much as I want to feed you to Hooty, who by the way you actually managed to knock out somehow” she added, sounded legitimately impressed, “I guess someone has to give Odalia the good news. But I warn you, if I ever see you again around here, you’re gonna regret being born.”

* * *

Alador walked into his bedroom, finding Odalia sitting on her chair, book in her hand and a glass of what looked like wine on a table besides her. His wife lifted her gaze. “Alador, thank the Titan you’re back! Did you retrieve our daughter?”

Alador slammed his hand on the table, startling Odalia. “Drop the act, Odalia. You lied.”

Odalia’s expression quickly changed from worry to unimpressed. “I’ll take that as a no.” She gently laid down her book, her ember eyes now staring directly into Alador’s. “Yes, I did… Modify the facts. But it was necessary.”

Alador struggled to speak, fist clenched against the table. “Necessary?! You said Eda had kidnapped our daughter!”

“Because at the end of the day, you’re still weak. If I had told you our youngest had decided to live her life as a filthy wild criminal with the Owl Lady and a...  _ human  _ like a savage you would have put it off, excusing yourself with ‘work’. This was the only way to ensure you would act like a man. But it seems not even with that incentive you could get Amity back.”

“Edalyn bested me in combat.”

“Yeah, right, that’s the reason.” Odalia sighed, slowly shaking her head. “It truly is a shame, isn’t it? Such a waste of potential…”

“Odalia, you better not bring the Emperor’s Coven into this or I swear to the Titan I’ll-”

The woman’s gaze swiftly fixated itself on Alador, cold like the ice of the Knee. “You’ll what, Alador?” The man’s blood froze in his veins, and he felt all of his rage vanish with those words. “May I remind you of the terms of our marriage, dear?” Odalia said, tapping her chest gemstone.

The jewel glowed a light green, Alador’s necklace glowing accordingly. He slowly leaned back, letting go of the table and holding the necklace. If any of them harmed the other, the damage would be shared. Odalia grinned.

“But very well, I shall refrain from sending the Emperor’s Coven after her. As far as I am concerned, that… peasant is no daughter of mine anymore. However, she shall be branded a criminal for her relations with the Owl Lady and the Raven Lady. And she will be prosecuted as such.”

Alador simply sighed, feeling like all of his energy had escaped from his body. “Very well.”

“Oh, right, and dear? Please, talk to the twins.”

Alador nodded, turning around and leaving the room. He felt a deep pit in his stomach, a myriad of emotions swirling inside of him waiting for the moment they could all be released at once. He walked over to Edric’s room, and heard both teens inside. He knocked. “Edric, Emira, I’m coming in.”

He heard a muffled okay and opened the door. The duo was sitting on their bed, backs completely stiff. Alador raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, but noticed the two flinched as soon as he moved it. Did Odalia… No, she wouldn’t. Right? He quickly dismissed those thoughts, he felt way too tired for all of this. There was only one thing he wanted.

“I assume your mother has already spoken to you.”

“Yes father.” Both answered in unison. That’s when Alador simply deflated, showing genuine emotion in front of his kids for the first time in ages. The twins shared a brief but concerned look.

“Just answer this: For how long had your sister been visiting the Owl Lady?”

Edric and Emira shared a look. “For around a month, father.”

Those words felt like a punch to the gut for Alador. She really had decided to abandon everything and trust a woman she had only known for a month with her life. He really had failed that much. “I… I see. Very well, good evening, children.”

And with that, he left their room, rushing downstairs to his studio. He got inside, closing the door behind him and locking it. And for the first time in over two decades, he allowed himself to show emotion, to show weakness.

He summoned an abomination and quickly lunged against it, furiously punching the creature. However, before he could throw more than a couple hits he broke down, leaning on the abomination instead. He had decided to bury himself on his work, to selfishly distance himself from his family to avoid dealing with Odalia’s anger, to ignore his children instead of facing them head on.

And now Amity was gone. Edalyn had once more proven to be superior to him. 

That night Alador Blight didn’t return to lay next to his wife in their bed.

* * *

“Very well, I’d say I’m done.” Amity opened her eyes, her head resting against the sink of the Owl House’s bathroom. She found her former mentor’s light blue eyes looking at her, giving her a smile. “The dye was of rather high quality, it was difficult to take it off but it was nothing a few potions couldn’t fix.”

Amity nodded and waited for Lilith to gently dry her hair, then turned to face the mirror. She quickly gasped, covering her mouth with her right hand. It was an image she had seen for the past two days, but this time it felt different. Her hair had a certain shine to it, the way those bronze hairs reflected the sunlight.

This was truly it, this was the real her. She was free. She saw tears of joy start to run down her cheeks and Lilith gently place a hand on her shoulder, giving her a warm smile. Amity gave her a thankful look, wiping her tears and nodding. “Thank you.”

The adult witch simply gave her a slow nod, and gently guided her out of the room. They both went downstairs, headed to the living room where the rest of the inhabitants were doing whatever. Everyone turned to her and gave her a smile, before Luz suddenly latched onto her, giving her a tight hug. Eda snorted, walking over to the two girls and ruffling Amity’s hair. King complained about Amity taking the spotlight instead of him, eliciting a chuckle from the witchling.

She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my GOD you guys can't believe for how long I've waited to write this chapter! The duel was literally the scene that spawned this whole fic! Amity is finally happy, Alador has a mental breakdown and Odalia plots like the manipulative bastard she is! What awaits in the future? Who knows...
> 
> As always, leave a kudo and a comment if you liked this chapter!


	11. Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've probably noticed I raised the age rating of the fic, it's just because here Alador is dinking his sorrows away. Nothing big but oh well, better safe than sorry. Also I added some Spanish dialogue, translations are available on the end notes. Enjoy!

Amity’s eyes slowly opened, the gentle light of the morning sun bathing her room. She slowly got up with a yawn, looking around her. The Emperor’s Coven poster hung pridefully on her wall, eliciting a sigh of resignation. Her mother had made her hang it up, covering her Azura poster. The girl shook those thoughts away and slowly made her way to her closet, getting her school uniform and changing into it.

She then headed to the bathroom, grateful she had apparently beaten Edric and Emira to it. Edric and Emira… A strange feeling washed over her with that thought, almost like nostalgia, but she quickly shrugged it off as morning haze. The girl walked over to the sink and gently washed her face, letting the cool water wake her up. She looked at the mirror and frowned, her mint colored hair flowing freely, auburn colored roots crossing her head.

Green hair… Her eyes widened at the realization, as if a switch had flipped inside of her mind. Green hair?! She quickly started spinning on her heels, looking around in horror. She wasn’t supposed to be there, she was supposed to be at the Owl House with Eda, Lilith, King, Hooty…

_ Luz. _

The witchling felt her heart skip a beat. Where was Luz?! She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate in terror, rushing out of the bathroom and down the stairs. She had to get to the Owl House, she had to see Luz. She ran across the hall to the main gate, but it felt like the hall never ended, like she was running in place. Her run turned into a full sprint, but nothing, the hall spread with her. No, no, this couldn’t be happening.

“Amity?” A female voice called her, freezing her in place. She looked to her right, her mother had appeared there, as if by a teleportation spell. “Dear, what are you doing?”

“Where’s Luz?” Was the only thing Amity said, without even thinking.

“Luz? Sweetie, what are you talking about?” Asked her mother with that faux concern she hated, and Amity felt like she was going to throw up right there.

“What do you mean ‘what am I talking about’?! What did you do to her?!”

“Amity, that is no way to speak to your mother.” Said an imposing male voice to her other side. Amity turned her head and saw her father, cold and unreadable looking down at her. 

“Father… You- you were there! You promised me you’d let me stay with Eda and Luz and-!”

“Eda?” Asked her father with a frown. “You mean the Owl Lady? Amity, the Owl Lady was captured and turned into Lord Belos’ war beast a month ago.”

“Amity, had you been associating with the Owl Lady?” Her mother asked, her barely believable concern turning into a stern tone. “You do realize the consequences of such a disgraceful act.” 

Amity looked at her mother, then at her father. She felt tears running down her face, not even being able to contain them anymore. No, this wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.

“Amity, such an act is unbecoming of a Blight, if not outright criminal.” It was her father now who spoke. “I’m afraid mere parental discipline will simply not be enough here, your punishment must be more severe.”

“You shall be sent to the Comformatorium.” Her mother’s voice was final. “Maybe there they will be able to teach you how to be civilized again.”

Amity fell to her knees, pressing her fists against her forehead and broke down sobbing. She felt everything around her going dark, but the voices of her parents were still hammering down her head. She didn’t understand them though, all she could focus on was one person. Luz. She had to find her, she had to be somewhere, she-

Amity woke up with a choked sob. It was still dark in the room, but moonlight filtered through the window. She quickly drew a spell circle, summoning her scroll and turned on her flashlight, pointing it at her face. She closed her eyes and slowly opened them up again, getting used to the light, then quickly held a strand of her hair. Bronze, not a drop of green dye on it.

She felt a nervous laugh building up, but it quickly died down when a new thought flashed through her mind. Luz. She quickly directed her flashlight to the other side of the room, where Luz’s sleeping bag was. And there it was… Empty. She got up in a panic, rushing towards the sleeping bag. It had been zipped open, and Luz’s shoes were gone.

Amity held onto the sleeping bag’s fabric, trying desperately to ground herself and think. Luz had been in the room recently, she was still in the Isles, she was okay. They had Eda, Hooty and Azura to protect them, if someone had sneaked in they would have noticed. Amity took deep breaths, trying to convince herself. It was the most rational thing to think, but a voice in the back of her head was still whispering. 

_ Your parents took Luz _

_ You put her in danger _

_ Selfish _

_ Weak _

_ You only hurt people _

_ It’s Willow all over again. _

She walked over to the window and opened it. She needed some fresh air. The girl leaned forward, taking a deep breath of the cool late summer night air when she noticed something in the clearing in front of the house. Azura was laying down there, curled around something . No, not something. Someone. Luz.

The witchling’s eyes went wide and quickly rushed out of the room, running down the stairs as lightly as possible as to not awake the other inhabitants of the Owl House and got to the front door. She opened it slowly, trying not to awake the infernal owl tube, and made her way to the cockatrice laying down.

“Ugh, ¿cómo se supone que le voy a decir la verdad?” Luz mumbled in Spanish. Amity froze in place. “¡Hola mami! ¿Recuerda que me mandó a un campamento? Bueno pues en realidad perseguí a un búho que me robó mi libro y ahora estoy en una dimensión mágica aprendiendo a ser una bruja y viviendo con mi novia. Ah, es verdad, ahora tengo una novia encantadora y amigos que me apoyan y no son humanos."

Azura huffed, and slowly looked at Amity. Girl and beast shared a look.

“¿Verdad que no le importaría que su hija de catorce años se mude a otra dimensión?” Luz asked into the nothingness, frustrated, and let out a sigh. Amity timidly walked around Azura, looking at her girlfriend. She was staring at her human scroll, a “phone” as Luz had explained, and she looked sad, brown eyes staring into the device.

“Luz?” The human jumped with a startled squeak, causing Azura to briefly tense up, then looked at Amity.

“Oh my gosh, did I wake you up? I’m so sorry Am, I-” Luz narrowed her eyes, looking at her girlfriend’s face. Her eyes were still red from crying in her sleep, the trails left behind by her tears still visible. “Are you okay?”

Amity raised an eyebrow, confused, before realizing what Luz was talking about. “Oh, yeah, don’t worry, just a bad dream. And for the record, you didn’t wake me up, although I wouldn’t have complained.” The witch said with a shy smile.

She carefully stepped over the cockatrice’s tail, trying not to stomp it, and gently sat down next to Luz. She hesitated for a second, but quickly snuggled up with the other girl. “The one who should ask that is me.”

“Huh?"

“I may not know Spanish”,  _ yet _ , she thought, “but I know when someone sounds happy. And that wasn’t someone happy.”

Luz sighed. “Oh, that… It’s just… Summer is going to end soon, and I have to go back home...” Amity felt a pang of sadness. With everything that had happened over the last few weeks, she had completely forgotten about it. She looked at the human, a mix of melancholy and guilt in her eyes. The witchling wrapped the human in a side hug, pulling her closer. She felt herself blush slightly with that, but ignored it.

“Luz…”

“The thing is… I don’t want to go. I just… I love it here. Learning magic with Eda and Lilith, going on adventures, hanging out with Willow and Gus, going to Hexside, the comedy hour with King…” Luz blushed, bracing herself for what she was about to say. “And there’s also you...”

Amity couldn’t help but smile, feeling all giddy inside.

“Back home… I was a nobody. Luz the freak, Luz the loner… But not here, I finally feel like I belong! But if I stay…” Luz’s thumb hovered over her phone, her messaging app opened on a chat with her mother. “...I know my mami will be worried sick. And I miss her too.”

A beat.

“...You haven’t told her the truth, have you?”

Luz sighed, and shook her head. “I just… I’m scared, Am. What if she doesn’t believe me and thinks I’m crazy?… What if… What if she freaks out, and forbids me from ever coming back?” Luz said, sniffling. Amity frowned, holding the other girl tight against her. She knew about Luz’s fear thanks to Grom, but to hear Luz so broken, so scared was completely different.

“I get it.” Amity said, gently rubbing Luz’s back. “Trust me, if there’s someone in the Isles who knows what mommy issues feel like it’s me.” Amity said with a smile. Luz gave Amity a weak smile of her own. “But from what you’ve told me, your mom is not like my mom. I don’t know her, but I know she loves you, and she only wants the best for you, I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Amity held Luz’s hands, gently rubbing her thumb on the human’s knuckles. “And if it makes you feel any better, I’ll be by your side when you tell her.”

The two girls looked at each other for a second, then Luz all but threw herself on Amity’s arms. The witch squeaked in surprise, face going pink, but was quick to hug her back. Azura lifted her head, looking at the two girls with a content huff.

“I really don’t deserve you.” Luz managed to choke out.

“I could say the same thing.” Amity said with a teasing tone, but meant every word. The couple stayed embraced in complete silence for several more minutes, until Amity finally spoke up again. “We should head back.”

Luz let out a tired groan. “But it’s so comfy here…”

“We’re using Azura as a pillow.” A yawn. “ And mattress....”

“She doesn’t mind…” As if on cue, the animal’s chest slowly rose and lowered, a rhythmic breathing that could only mean she had fallen asleep. “Besides, we wouldn’t want to wake up a cockatrice…”

“I guess… You have… A point…” Amity mumbled, gently falling limp on Luz. Both girls slowly drifted off to sleep, emotionally exhausted, under the silver light of the Moon. They didn’t notice when Lilith came back in the middle of the night and gently returned them to their room.

* * *

Lilith looked at the building before her. A large sign hung above its entrance,  _ The Cat’s Paw _ . The woman looked around her, moon high above her and sighed. She pushed the door open, a smell of alcohol and smoke flooding her senses. She coughed, making her way into the tavern. Most tables were occupied by witches and demons of all shapes and sizes. A humanoid, three eyed pig demon cursed up a storm as his Hexes Hold ‘Em burned to the crisp by an old witch’s cards.

Several insults, yells and laughs filled the atmosphere, but the woman ignored them, walking over to the counter and sitting down on an empty stool next to what seemed to be the only man not acting like a crazed pandyte. The man wore a ragged, hooded cloak and was gripping a jar full of purple liquid. He had auburn hair, a well kept goatee… And golden eyes…

“Alador?!”

The man choked on his drink and coughed up a storm. He quickly turned his head to Lilith, who had reached for her staff. “Lilith?! What are you doing here?!” His words came out slurred from the drinking, which made Lilith relax. He wasn’t there for a fight.

“I could ask you the same.”

Alador sighed, looking back at his drink. “My wife who I barely stand has become the most powerful political figure in the Isles besides Belos himself, my eldest children either fear me or hate me, probably both, and my youngest deciding living with  _ Eda _ was better than living with her own family.” The man raised his jar, a sarcastic smirk on his face. “Sounds like something to celebrate, doesn’t it?” He snarked.

Lilith frowned, after Hexside she hadn’t interacted with Alador that much, but even during council meetings he had never acted like that, he almost sounded like how he was as a teen… Just how much had he been drinking? “What about you?”

The woman blinked at the question, then averted her gaze. “I… It’s a long story.” Alador raised his eyebrow, and Lilith sighed in resignation. “After my magic was… taken, I moved with Edalyn. The first few days were crushing. Edalyn claimed to have forgiven me but I could sense the hurt in her voice, the way she looked at me. The hu- Luz always seemed to tense up around me, scared I’d… use her again and even the tiny demon announced his hatred. Loudly. I had no job, no powers and the people I lived with could barely look at me, so I coped.”

“You mean you drank.”

Lilith nodded. “Every night I’d sneak out, head to this tavern and… Drink my sorrows away.” A fond smile slowly grew on her face. “Edalyn discovered me one day coming back, and I guess that’s what truly drove her to put the past behind us. After that night I stopped visiting this place every night, but some nights… Some nights the guilt just comes back, so I come here.”

The two sat there in silence, the Blight staring at his drink and Lilith playing with her fingers. She wasn’t even sure why she had just confessed something so personal to Alador Blight of all people, perhaps the relatability of his situation, she wasn’t sure. She sighed, digging in her pocket for some snails, but frowned when she didn’t find any.

“Looking for this?” Asked Alador, and Lilith couldn’t help but gasp, seeing a tiny abomination standing on the counter with her snails on its hands. “You aren’t going back to the same house as my daughter while drunk.” Stated the man. “ ‘Sides, your liver must be begging for mercy.”

Lilith smirked, swiftly taking back her snails and calling for the barman. “Apple blood, please. Soft.” She added, giving Alador a side glance, and the barman quickly nodded before walking off. 

Alador moved his hand to get his jar again, but a white raven suddenly jumped up, and before he could react it spilled the drink on the floor. The man gave Lilith a glance, recognizing her palisman.

“Can’t allow Alador Blight to be seen drunkenly making his way to the Manor.”

Alador let out a groan. “Eye for an eye, huh.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Lilith, could I ask you something?” Lilith hummed. “Has Amity said anything about me and Odalia?

Lilith winced. “She… Speaks mostly of Odalia. The things that girl has told us, if only I had known…”

“At least you have that excuse.” Alador sighed again. “I do admit some things were unknown even to me. Her hair was one of them, I only became aware of… The issue a few months ago.”

“She seems to know that, to a certain extent. She doesn’t mention you much, but what she does say is not… flattering, to say the least. There is one event she mentions with frequency...”

“Her seventh birthday.” Alador said bluntly, not even asking. Lilith nodded. “Before that day Amity and I were… closer. Work didn’t give me much room for the family, but whenever I had the chance I’d indulge Amity’s curiosity. I’d show her basic abomination magic, and we often visited our private library so I could read all kinds of ancient tomes about magic to her.” A weak smile had crept on the man’s face while talking, but it quickly dropped. “Then… that day happened.”

* * *

“While I do find your concept of elemental abominations interesting, I am not certain if the Emperor would allow the research project to proceed.” Alador said, holding a cup of apple blood. The man he was talking with simply chuckled.

“Oh come on Al, think of the possibilities! Besides, it’s elemental magic, that doesn’t fall under any coven! The applications of this could be monumental!”

Alador smiled, rolling his eyes. “Elestair, my friend, you truly are a product of the Savage Ages.”

The older, rotund man laughed, lightly slapping his stomach. “You truly need to drink more, Alador, we could use this attitude at the coven.”

The Blight shook his head with a grin, taking a sip. “And you need to differentiate parties and work.”

“Alador, dear, can you come here?” Called Odalia from outside the ballroom the two men were talking in, eliciting a groan from Alador.

“Excuse me.” Alador said, walking away from the Elestair, who cracked some joke about marriage that Alador didn’t quite hear. He made his way out of the ballroom and to one of the many dining rooms, where he found Odalia.

“What’s the matter, dear?”

“Have you seen Amity?”

Alador raised an eyebrow, confused. “I… I have, yes, I think she was playing with another kid, why?”

“That kid is the peasant girl she has apparently grown so fond of.” Odalia huffed. Alador’s eyes briefly narrowed, trying to remember who Odalia was talking about.

“The Park girl?”

“Yes, whatever her name is. I allowed Amity to interact with her for now, thinking she’d eventually drift away, but I fear that’s not a possibility, she’s even ignoring the children of the families we invited! The mere presence of that low class in this party is tainting our reputation.”

Alador sighed. “Odalia…”

“And I have heard she might be admitted onto Hexside! That… Powerless disgrace! It’s simply outrageous, imagine if our daughter is seen interacting with that girl during classes, it would be simply unacceptable.”

“Dear, they’re children. They’ll grow apart as they grow, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“I am not willing to take any chances. Amity will sever her ties with that girl immediately.”

“Odalia, you cannot be serious. She’s seven.”

“That’s the perfect age to start acting according to her status, it’s time she learns a lesson. You have been too soft on her.”

Alador blinked in shock, but preferred not to question that last part. “Alright, so, say we do tell her to sever ties with the Park girl, but she refuses. What then?”

“Then the best that filthy peasant will aspire to is Bones High.”

“Come again?” Alador asked, completely dropping his usual elegant wording out of sheer disbelief.

“You heard me. If Amity refuses to act like a Blight, that… Park girl will not set foot in any mildly decent institution.” Odalia gave her husband a cold glare. “My contacts on the Emperor’s Coven are wide and powerful, Alador. Don’t you forget that.”

Alador’s nape hairs rose, the threat of Odalia's words evident to him. He sighed in resignation, he really was going to do this. He guessed it was inevitable, better do it while Amity was young than waiting for her friendships to truly take hold. At least that’s what he told himself. “Alright, I shall call her, but I believe it’s better we do this in my studio, she will no doubt draw our guests’ attention when she inevitably protests.”

Odalia nodded, and the couple headed to Alador’s studio. The man stood by the door while his wife got inside, and scanned the hall for his youngest. Once he found her, he cleared his voice. “Amity?”

The girl looked at him, and once she understood she was being called she quickly walked to the room. Alador looked at her get into the room, sighed and closed the door. He went to Odalia’s side and stood there, hands behind his back.

“What is Willow doing here? She wasn’t in the guest list for a reason.” Odalia asked. Amity’s face quickly turned into one of confusion.

“But she- She’s my best friend!”

Alador winced internally, giving his wife a quick side glance. She simply stared at Amity, unflinching, and Alador waiting for Odalia to continue. Instead, his wife gave him a quick, but cold stare. Great, he’d have to do the worst part. A slight, almost imperceptible sigh.

“Nonsense, Blights only associate with the strongest of witchlings.” He noticed Odalia frown ever so slightly, surely expecting him to talk about status, not magical power. He had to leave a small window in case Willow turned out to be a late bloomer. “You may choose a new friend from one of the suitable companions we invited.”  _ Your mother invited,  _ he thought.

“But they’re mean!” Odalia frowned ever so slightly at the kid’s complaint, sending a jolt of dread up Alador’s spine. “Just because you work with their parents doesn’t mean I have to like them!”

“Good children don’t squabble, dear.” Odalia told her, voice ever so sweet and maternal but with eyes shining with anger. “Sever your ties with Willow, and if you don’t…”

Odalia looked at Alador. He sighed, Odalia’s words still forefront in his mind. This was for the best, the other girl’s life would be destroyed otherwise. Amity would come back from this, it was just a toddlers’ friendship, it wasn’t deep. “Then we will.”

The girl gasped, eyes widening in fear, and took a step back. Alador bit his tongue, seeing the pure fright on his own daughter’s face.

“We’ll make sure the girl is never admitted into Hexside.” Odalia continued. Alador frowned, hadn’t she had enough? “Now go. Oh, and try not to make a scene?”

Alador looked as Amity’s shock quickly turned into a frown, then the girl’s eyes started to get wet with tears, sniffling. She quickly ran out of the room, crying. Odalia shook her head.

“This should serve her as a lesson.”

Alador simply looked at the girl running away, feeling his stomach turn. He had no other choice. At least that’s what he told himself.

* * *

“A few minutes later I saw Willow run down the stairs, crying her heart out and leaving the manor in a rush. I managed to slip away from the party and go upstairs to check on Amity. Her room’s door was closed, but even with that… I could hear her muffled crying.” Alador rubbed his forehead. “She didn’t get out of her room for the rest of the day. After that I decided to focus on work, and whenever Odalia asked me to intervene I’d put on a mask of indifference. I told myself the least I interacted with the children, the better. I guess I ended up convincing myself at some point.”

Lilith simply looked at her former friend. He had seen Alador through their entire adult life, he had always looked either tired or with the trademark Blight pride. And yet, before her sat a broken man, crushed by his guilt and manipulated by his wife. It hit too close home.

“I understand how you feel. After cursing Edalyn, I spent my entire career trying to bring her to the Emperor so he could cure her. I was so sure I was doing the right thing I didn’t realize I was only hurting her even further.” She looked at Alador. “Amity has made her choice, and as much as it pains you… Only she can decide if she’ll forgive you, and after so much…” Lilith closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. “That girl has been hurt too much. You can only try and change yourself, but even that might not be enough.”

Alador sighed. “I guess you’re right.” The man then grunted, getting up from his seat, and summoned his staff. He took it in his hands and stepped aside, but he tripped and barely managed to stop himself from ungracefully falling face first against the floor by holding onto his staff for dear life.

Lilith frowned. “You’re in no condition to fly.” She dropped some snails on the counter, paying for her drink, and got up. “I’ll fly you home, my magic may be gone but Mist is still able to fly.” As if on command, the raven palisman’s eyes glowed blue.

“If I were seen in public with you, drunk and leaving an outskirts tavern Odalia would lose it.” Alador said, then a sly grin slowly formed. “Deal.”

Lilith grinned in amusement, then helped the Blight walk outside. She helped him up on her staff, then climbed it up herself. “Alright, hold on tight.” And with that warning, the two climbed up into the skies. Lilith made sure not to speed up too much, fearing her passenger would fall off or vomit on some poor witch taking a night stroll. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and the pair made it safe and sound to the manor.

Alador clumsily got down from his staff, stumbling a bit before regaining his balance. He knew Odalia was at the Emperor’s Castle, but he’d rather not be seen by the twins like that. He turned to Lilith. “Thank you, Lilith. It was… A pleasure to meet again, despite the circumstances.”

“I think I’d say the same.” With that, Lilith gave him a nod, and flew off. Alador watched her fly away, and slowly made his way to the mansion, helping himself with his staff. His snake palisman, Ophidion, gave him a side glance. “Don’t look at me like that.” He mumbled, and the snake let out a quiet hiss before becoming fully wooden again.

He finally got to the main gate, and reached out to open it. He didn’t need to, however, as it was opened from the inside. Before him stood a short girl, who was looking indoors and therefore hadn’t noticed him. “See ya around, cut-” She turned around, and froze in place upon making eye contact with Alador, color completely fading from her face.

“Viney?” Called Emira. “What’s wro-” She froze in place, eyes going wide and ears pinning down as soon as she saw the scene at the front door. “F-father”

Alador looked at his daughter, and then to the other girl, Viney if he had heard right. He sighed, stepping aside and letting the girl walk out, who promptly speed walked out with a hurried farewell. He turned to his daughter, who looked absolutely terrified.

“F-father, I- I can explain-”

“Emira, if you don’t mind, it’s too late for this. We shall speak in the morning.”

“Y-yes, of course.”

Alador nodded, walking past her. He heard her let out a whine, and winced ever so slightly at the sound. After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached his bed, dropping down on it with a tired grunt. That Viney girl… He didn’t recognize her name or her face from any of Odalia’s approved relationships. It was Amity and the human all over again. But this time, he’d try to make a difference. It was time he escaped from Odalia’s shadow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the Spanish dialogue translates to:
> 
> "Ugh, how am I supposed to tell her the truth? Hi mom! Remember how you sent me to camp? Well, I actually chased an owl that stole my book and now I'm on a magical imesnion learning how to be a witch and living with my girlfriend. Oh right, now I have an amazing girlfriend and supportive friends, and none of them are human!"  
> "You wouldn't mind your fourteen year old daughter moving to another dimension, would you?"
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed it! As always, leave a kudo and a comment if you did!


	12. The Cat And The Mouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I updated this fic on the weekends lmao

Alador Blight, head of the Abomination Coven and patriarch of the most influential family of the Boiling Isles, let out a hiss as his alarm woke him up. Loudly. Its beeps felt like torture, hammering on his head like a mace. He groaned in pain, quickly summoning his scroll and turning the alarm off. The sound mercifully stopped, and he let out a relieved sigh.

The man sat up on his bed with a growl, pitching the bridge of his nose and smacking his dried lips together. Titan, just how much had he drank last night? He was grateful Odalia wasn’t there to see him, otherwise she would have no doubt chastised him and given him a long, irritating lecture about status and appearances. He looked down, seeing he was still wearing the previous day’s clothes. That was right, he had all but thrown himself on his bed, right after… Oh. Emira.

With a sigh, he drew a spell circle, materializing a new outfit for the day, and walked out of the room. The children would still take a bit to wake up for school, giving him a head start to at least try and not look like a greater wyrm had attacked him. The twins would take longer, but Amity would take less time to wake up, so-

His train of thought screeched to a halt, a grimace appearing in his face. Amity was gone, it was his fault. The man quickly shook his head, trying to shake off those thoughts, although they were quickly replaced by an excruciating headache from the sudden movement that caused him to hiss in pain. Alador sighed, walking over the stairwell and walking down to the lower floor of the Manor.

He quickly made his way to one of the kitchens, the smaller one used for breakfast and smaller meals, opened their enormous fridge and retrieved a jar of cool water. He then took a glass, poured the liquid in it and quickly chugged it down. He let out a groan, rubbing his temple. “Never again.” He whimpered.

“Father?”

Alador felt like his heart was going to jump out of his mouth, but quickly collected himself and turned around. Emira was sitting at the dining table, a plate with her breakfast in front of her. She had an eyebrow raised in confusion. The man cleared his throat.

“Oh, Emira. I… Didn’t expect you this early in the morning.”

“You mentioned you wanted to speak with me in the morning, and as we have school today, I took the liberty to wake up earlier.” The girl eyed up her father, and he truly looked awful. “Is… Is everything alright, father?”

“Yes, yes, everything is alright, worry not.” He cleared his throat. “I shall leave you to your meal then. Meet me at the living room when you’re done, Emira.”

The girl simply nodded, and Alador walked out of the kitchen. Once he made it to the living room, the closest one at least, he plopped down on a couch with a tired sigh. There was a table in front of the seat, and an armchair on the other side.

Soon enough, Emira walked over to the armchair, sitting down on it stiff as a plank. The two sat there in an uncomfortable silence, daughter almost shaking with fear and father trying to find the right words. Finally, Alador spoke.

“So, this… Viney girl… Her name is not one I recognize. Perhaps I’m an acquaintance with her parents?”

Emira paled, and shook her head. “I-I don’t think so… She’s… She’s from a working family.”

Alador frowned with a sigh. Just as he had thought. “Does anyone else know of this?”

Emira wanted to avert her gaze, but somehow didn’t. She wasn’t quite sure why, if it was fear or just pure force of habit. “Only Edric and Amity.”

Alador nodded. “Very well, then let’s keep it that way, shall we?” He said with a smirk.

Emira’s eyes went wide in surprise, blinking a few times in confusion. This couldn’t be real, surely she was dreaming. “I… I don’t understand.”

Alador smiled, leaning back on his seat. “As long as your grades don’t suffer from this relationship, I see no issue with you going through it. Your mother however, will probably take issue with it so it would be wise to- “

Before the man could finish his sentence, a blur all but leapt over the table and tightly hugged him. Alador kept his arms raised, frozen in place as Emira squeezed him. He flapped his mouth to speak, but nothing came. This was the first time any of his children had shown a hint of affection towards him, let alone given him a  _ hug.  _ It was… Nice. He could get used to this.

Emira suddenly stumbled back in horror, separating herself from her father. “F-Father! I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to- “

“It’s fine.” Alador reassured her, which caused Emira to give him a puzzled look. The man patted the space on the couch besides him, inviting Emira to sit besides him. She looked at his hand, then hesitantly sat down. “Very well, let’s hear about this enigmatic girl who has stolen my eldest daughter’s heart.”

Emira’s cheeks flashed red, eliciting a chuckle from Alador.

“For how long have you two been seeing each other?” Asked the man.

“For a month now.”

Alador hummed, resting his chin on his hand. They really had managed to keep this whole relationship a secret for so long, that was an impressive achievement. A pang of guilt hit him, his own daughter had been so afraid of their reaction to a teenage romance she had gone to great lengths to hide it from them. “What track is she studying? I assume it’s illusions.”

Emira tensed up at the question, causing Alador to frown. “She’s… She’s on the Healing track.” Alador raised an eyebrow. That was still quite a prestigious track, why would Emira tense up so much about revealing that? “…And Beast Keeping.”

Alador’s eyes widened with surprise. Was she implying this mysterious girl was studying two tracks? Sure, he knew the Beast Keeping coven had a sub-coven dedicated to the healing of beasts, but it was evident what Emira suggested was not that.

“Are you suggesting she studies both tracks?”

Emira nodded. “Yes. Principal Bump introduced mixed tracks over a month ago. She… She chose Healing and Beast Keeping.”

Alador hummed, stroking his goatee. “I’m curious, how could those two tracks be mixed?”.

Emira blinked, somewhat taken aback by the question. “I- She- She has a griffin, Puddles. She’s trained to help with healing tools and basic spells.” The girl’s eyes narrowed, trying to remember something. “I… I think she has mentioned something about therapy beasts…”

Alador suddenly straightened his back, eyes going wide. Emira flinched, had she said something wrong? Had he decided he had had enough of that nonsense? The man got up, and looked at his daughter.

“Come with me.” Her father said, and so the teen got up, walking right behind Alador. The two made their way through the various halls of Blight Manor, until Alador finally stopped in front of a pair of large, wooden gates. Their private library. The man pushed one of the gates open, hissing as the wood’s creaks hit him like an explosion, and walked in.

“Emira, try and not touch anything unless I ask you to, please.”

“Yes father.”

And with that single exchange, the two walked between the several shelves, filled with books of all kinds and ages. Some of the volumes contained in that room were so ancient they had been originally written even before the manor itself was built, their writers long lost in the abyss of time. Emira couldn’t help but think that Amity would’ve loved to be in there with them. Or at least with her.

After a few minutes, Alador finally stopped. He scanned a few books before finding the one he was looking for, carefully extracting it. He inspected the cover and blew on it, some dust flying away. He then handed it to Emira. “Here. I believe your… Friend will find this incredibly useful.” He told her.

Emira carefully read the cover.  _ Effects of Animal Companions on Mental Health and its Applications _ . The teen quickly looked up at her father, meeting his gaze. She looked confused.

“Tell her she can keep the book, I am sure she will be able to put it to much greater use than anyone on this house has for generations.”

Emira looked at him in shock, then back down at the book. She truly had to be dreaming, there was no way her father not only approved of her relationship with Viney, but actively  _ encouraged _ it. Just where had this Alador Blight been for all these years?

The two simply stood there in an awkward silence, before Emira finally spoke up. “Thank you, father, but I’m afraid I cannot give her the book today. I don’t share any classes with her until tomorrow.”

Alador simply raised an eyebrow, a glint of his mischievous teenage self in his eyes. “You’re a top student of the Illusion track, aren’t you?” Emira’s eyes went even wider if possible, barely processing the situation. “By the way, if it is not too much trouble, I would like to meet this mysterious Viney.”

Emira felt her heart jump into her throat. This was it, Viney would be forced to meet her parents and everything would be over. Alador caught on.

“Worry not, your mother shall know nothing of this, I am just curious about her magical projects. I believe the town’s library would be a suitable meeting place, if it’s alright by her of course.”

Emira simply nodded. “Yes father, I will let her know.”

“Very well then, you may carry on with your morning, Emira.”

And with that, the rest of the morning continued like normal in Blight manor, or at least as normal as it could be with the youngest of the Blight kids gone. Edric came downstairs soon after the other two finished their talk and had breakfast. Alador left earlier than the twins for work, letting out a pained hiss at his children’s rather loud farewells. The teens left for school soon after, taking the path to Hexside in silence.

“So…” Edric said, almost five minutes later. “Is it me or has father been… Acting weird today?”

Emira raised an eyebrow with a grin. “Weird as in obviously has the hangover of a lifetime?”

Edric shook his head. “No. Well, yeah, but not just that.” He drew a spell circle, a rolled up blue paper falling on his hands. “I saw him summoning this next to my stuff when he thought I wasn’t looking.” The boy then opened the paper, showing the blueprints of Hexside, with several highlighted areas and notes. There were at least two different handwritings. Emira’s eyebrows all but shot up to her hairline.

“Just look at this! There are all kinds of secret rooms, storages and passages highlighted here! Not just your little dating spot.”

Emira blushed at the remark and elbowed Edric in the ribs before letting out a sigh. “Speaking of dating…”

Edric’s teasing grin fell, his face now showing concern. Emira had told him the previous night about what had happened, and he was expecting the worst. “Em…”

“He… He said he’ll allow Viney and me to keep seeing each other.”

The boy stopped dead on his tracks, eyes wide open to such an extent it felt like they were gonna pop out. “What?!”

Emira simply frowned. “Yeah, it was super weird. He told me I should keep it a secret from mother, gave me a book to give to Viney and now wants to meet her.”

Ed blinked a few times in surprise. “Are… Are we sure father isn’t possessed by a body snatcher?”

Emira shrugged. “Honestly? Dunno, but if he has then it’s a welcomed change.”

Edric shrugged back, drawing another spell circle to teleport the school blueprints back in his bag. The both then continued the rest of their walk in silence, still processing what had happened at the manor, until they finally reached the school building. The place already had its fair share of students around, but most people were still yet to arrive.

The duo spotted their younger sister at the stairs, holding hands with Luz and chatting with Willow and Gus. Edric raised an eyebrow. “She won’t be the only Blight dating in public soon.” He said with a teasing tone.

Emira gave him a glare. “Ed… Remember what mother said…”

Edric’s gaze dropped to the ground at the reminder. Before he could add anything a voice caught their attention.

“Hey Em!” The two raised their gazes to the school’s entrance, seeing Viney, Jerbo and Barcus standing there. The trio made their way down to the twins, Viney practically skipping some of the steps.

The boys simply looked at each other and left, deciding to give the couple some privacy. The two girls simply stood there, Viney with a somber look, as if she was waiting for Emira to tell her a relative had died.

“So… What’d he say?”

Emira dug into her bag, retrieving the book Alador had given her, and handed it to Viney. The beast keeper gave her a puzzled look, looking at the book. Her eyes widened upon reading the title, then quickly looked at Emira.

“Does that mean…?”

Emira nodded “He said he wants to meet you at the library at some point, and that as long as my mother doesn’t find out-” Emira couldn’t finish the sentence, only letting out an undignified yelp as Viney pulled her into a bone crushing hug. The Blight quickly returned the embrace with a smile and a soft blush. She knew other students were looking at them, but she didn’t care.

“So, I gotta meet the father, huh?” Viney whispered. Emira’s ears dropped.

“Yeah… He looked curious about what you do with Puddles.” Viney chuckled.

“So not a test?” Emira shook her head.

“No, but I’d still watch out. Just in case.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Hexside stairs, a certain human was gawking at the scene. 

“Aww, look at them Ami! They’re so cute!”

Amity raised an eyebrow with a scoff. “Yeah right, adorable.” She said, rolling her eyes. “I’m surprised they’re being so public about it though.”

“Why?” Piped in Gus. “You and Luz have been public since the start.” The boy shuddered a little. “Maybe a little too much…”

The two girls quickly separated their hands with a yelp, going red. Willow rolled her eyes and gave Gus a light nudge, prompting a “what?” from the boy.

“Well…” Amity said, finally calming down. “Luz and I started dating after I… Moved. Em and Ed are still living at the manor, which means if my parents find out…” She and Willow shared a worried look, knowing all too well what the Blights did to unwelcomed relationships, romantic or otherwise.

Luz shrugged. “Maybe your parents are mellowing out? Your father did see us together and let you stay.”

Amity rubbed her chin. “Father has always been… Distant. Not good, but I guess technically better? Not like that’s saying much. But still…” Amity worriedly looked at her older sister and Viney again, the two now chatting and holding hands. “I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel right. Even if father let them be by some miracle, mother would never…”

The bell’s screaming interrupted the witchling, signaling the start of the school day. The group made their way inside, each of them going to their respective school wings. Luz had to check on the stables as part of Beast Keeping, which left Amity all by herself.

She felt everyone’s gazes falling on her, putting her at unease. Sure, she had gotten quite a few looks when she started dating Luz. But these… These were different. Almost like they knew something she wasn’t aware of. The girl quickly made her way over her Abomination Chemistry class, hoping to escape all those looks, took a seat and…

“Amity Blight to Principal Bump’s office, please.” The bell announced. Amity went pale.

* * *

“And that’s the last one!” Luz said, wiping some sweat from her forehead as she watched a Bunyip happily munching on what looked like the Boiling Isles equivalent of a watermelon. She took a step back. “Close enclosure.” And just like that, the invisible barrier of the Bunyip paddock materialized again. The human girl let out a relieved sigh, grateful the Beast Keeping teachers had figured out a verbal command for the barriers.

The girl simply watched the creature eat as she still had a few minutes left until her next class. The looked like a mix of a bear and an otter, which made the fact that it was herbivorous all the more surprising to her. After a few minutes, the beast finally finished its meal, and lazily slid back into its pond. “There you are!” Someone suddenly said behind her. Luz turned around, finding herself face to face with Boscha.

“Boscha? What do you want?”

Boscha smirked. “What I want? Oh I’ll tell you what I want alright.” The triclops cracked her knuckles, taking a step towards Luz. “I don’t know what you did to Amity, but I’m warning you, round ears. This whole… Thing you got going on?” Luz took a step back, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “That won’t fly. Because of you meddling where you aren’t needed my reputation has taken a nosedive. First the Grugdeby match, then the hallway incident with the twins?”

The bully kept closing the gap between them. “And not only that, you’ve somehow dragged Amity into this. So I think I should teach you a lesson.” Luz’s eyes suddenly went wide with fear. Boscha grinned. Good.

“Boscha… Please don’t take another step closer.” The potions girl frowned. What? Who did this human lowlife think she was to tell her what to do?

“Oh yeah? Or what?” She said, taking another step forward. Luz pointed behind the witch. A low growl reached her ears. Boscha froze, and turned around, finding a black snout full of dagger like teeth barely inches away from her.

Boscha let out a terrified scream, jumping back. Azura let out a screech, eyes shining bright purple. Luz quickly averted her gaze, closing her eyes and jumping on the animal with an “Azura no!” The cockatrice raised her head, eye shine stopping instantly and not baring her teeth anymore.

“What did I tell you? No petrificating at scho-”

A shriek interrupted Luz’s lecture to her animal. The human girl looked at where the scream had come from and-

“MY LEGS ARE MADE OF STONE!” Luz simply stood there, frozen in place and looking at how Boscha’s lower half had been completely petrified. The triclops glared at her. “You better fix this right now or I swear to the Titan I will have that worthless bag of feathers cooked for dinner!”

The cockatrice glared at Boscha with a growl, getting ready to attack again. “Can you stop making things worse for five seconds?!” Hissed Luz, then turned at Azura. “Hey there, calm down girl. I appreciate you wanting to help me, really, but you kinda overdid it.”

“Overdid it?! I’m half statue you Titan damn idi-!” Boscha suddenly shut her mouth after another low rumble from the animal. Luz sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Alright, alright, let’s calm down a little, okay? This… This is fixable. I just need to get you to the healers and-”

“Newsflash! I can’t walk!”

“Then maybe I should let my goddamn dinosaur finish the job and use you as a Hooty distractor!” Luz suddenly yelled at the other girl. Boscha cowered under the human’s girl, the usually cheerful and easy going Luz actually threatening her and  _ meaning every single word _ . It was nothing sort of terrifying.

The human sigh. “Okay, now I just need to get you to the healer’s office… Somehow.” Luz tapped the ground with her foot, then her eyes widened as a figurative lightbulb lit up. She quickly grabbed a large stick from nearby, and started drawing a huge glyph on the ground under the vigilant gaze of both witch and cockatrice. When she finished, she tapped the glyph, the drawing glowing with a deep purple and an abomination at least 6 feet tall rising from it.

“Ta-da!”

Boscha eyed the creature with disgust. “I’m not getting my uniform all smudged with that thing’s goo.”

“You could always use Azura as a ride.” Luz suggested, eliciting a curious huff from the animal. Boscha paled for a second. 

“I-I’ll take the abomination.”

Luz rolled her eyes. “Alright… Let’s hope this one doesn’t turn into a puddle halfway through.”   
  
“WHAT?!”

“Abomination, get Boscha to the healer’s office!” The summoning obeyed, swiftly picking Boscha up with an undignified yelp coming from the witch. Luz turned to Azura. “And you stay here, no more turning people into stone!” And with that, the girl left off to the main campus.

The cockatrice looked at them with curiosity, then sat down right on the spot. She started preening her feathers when she suddenly perked her head up. Her other master was in distress.

* * *

Amity stood before Principal Bump’s office, looking at the door. She felt her stomach squirm out of sheer nerves, she had never been called to Bump’s office before. Had she done something wrong? Was he gonna send her to detention? Was he going to inform her parents of-?

That train of thought quickly derailed into an ever messier one. Was he going to hand her over to her mother? She almost felt herself fall to her knees, barely able to stay upright. She took a deep breath, no, Bump wouldn’t do that. Right?

The girl knocked, a muffled “come in” as a response. She opened the door, and found Bump sitting on his desk.

“Miss Blight, I am glad to see you could make it. Please, take a seat.” The man said,summoning a chair right in front of him. Amity quickly walked over, sitting down. She had her fists tightly clenched on her uniform, barely able to form a coherent sentence. Bump must have noticed. “Do not worry, you’re not in trouble. I just need you for some bureaucracy.”

Amity’s eyes went wide, looking at Bump now. “What do you mean?”

“Well, since your mother announced your vanishment a couple of days ago-”

“She what?” Amity went even paler than usual. She… She had been vanished from the family. Her own mother had decided she was not worthy of being called her daughter anymore. She was thrown away like a broken toy. Sure, she was finally free from her, but it still hurt.

“I see you hadn’t been notified of this. My apologies for breaking it to you like this, Miss Blight.”

Bump’s voice broke her from her trance, she shook her head slightly to wake her from her stupor. “It’s… It’s okay.”

The man eyed her briefly with a hint of worry, then cleared his throat. “As I was saying, since your mother announced you vanishment, your file must be updated with new contact information. I… Take it you’ve found residence under the supervision of a responsible adult?” Bump asked, a glint of fear for the girl visible in his eyes.

“Yes sir, Edalyn and Lilith Clawthorne have been taking care of me for some time now.”

The man choked on his spit, barely managing to hide it behind a cough. He looked like every ounce of his energy had been drained straight out of his body at the mere mention of Eda, a thousand yard stare settling on his eyes for a brief moment. The man then let out a sigh. “Fortunately… I guess, I have Edalyn’s contact information under Miss Noceda’s file so I’ll just make a quick confirmation call.”

Amity simply nodded, and Bump quickly summoned a teleraven. With a sigh, he dialed up the dreaded number. Static. Then, someone picked up.

“This is The Owl House, Owl Lady on the line. If you wanna buy something wait till I get to the stand, if not you can fu-”

“Hello, Edalyn.” Bump quickly cut her off with a sigh.

“Bumpy! What do I owe the pleasure? Kid got in trouble again?”

“No, Miss Noceda is fine.”

“Ah sucks, well there’s always another time!” Eda snorted, and Bump rolled his eyes. Amity stared wide eyed at the usually collected and professional Bump looking like he wanted to commit a murder. “What is it then?” The raven squaked in Eda’s voice.

“I have Amity on my office, and she claims she’s under your care now. May I get a confirmation?”

“Yeah sure, kid’s under my fortunately not literal anymore wing.”

Bump pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Edalyn…”

“Alright, alright. I, Edalyn Clawthorne, confirm Amity Blight is under my care, I swear it under my family name and the Titan’s eye. Ya happy, Bumpy?”

Bump let out yet another sigh. “Yes, thank you Edalyn.”

“Anyti-” Bump quickly hung up before Eda could continue, almost as if her mere voice was poison to him. The man then drew a spell circle, Amity’s file appearing on his desk. The girl eyed it curiously as the bird hopped over to it, giving it a look. It then opened its beak, repeating Eda’s confirmation beat by beat.

The folder then emitted a light blue glow. When it stopped, it didn’t read Amity Blight. It read Amity Clawthorne. The girl felt her eyes get teary, a little sniffling managing to come through. Bump gave her a slight smile.

“Now of course the name is just for convenience, so if you wish to change it back…”

“No, it’s fine.” The girl quickly reassured. Bump nodded.

“Very well, then I’d say we’re done. You may resume your cla-”

“Principal Bump, Mrs Blight is here to see you.” The teleraven suddenly squawked, with the voice of Bump’s secretary. Bump raised an eyebrow, and noticed Amity had gone completely stiff.

“Can it wait? I need to organize some files.”

“She says it’s urgent, sir.”

Bump looked at the teen before him. She looked absolutely terrified, eyes almost pleading him not to let her in. He sighed, and drew a light blue spell circle. Amity turned invisible, and Bump nodded to one of the office’s corners. The witchling quickly understood, all but running out of the way.

“Very well, let her in.”

The door of his office opened almost immediately. Odalia Blight slowly walked in, wearing her Emperor’s Coven uniform. She walked towards Bump’s desk, chin held high, every step methodical. The embodiment of perfection. Amity felt like she was going to collapse right there.

The matriarch of the Blight family gently sat down. “Greetings, Principal Bump.”

“Mrs Blight! What do we owe the honor of your presence to?” Bump asked with a welcoming, if faked, smile. Odalia let out a small grin.

“I am glad you asked. I am here in the name of the Emperor’s Coven to retrieve two of your students. Luz Noceda and Amity Blight.” Amity felt her blood freeze upon hearing her name, barely remembering to breathe. “They’re wanted for associating with the Owl Lady and the Raven Lady, and we know they’re studying in this school.”

Bump looked at her, tapping his desk with his almost claw-like nails. “I am afraid I cannot do that, Mrs Blight.”

Amity barely managed to stop a gasp from coming out from her throat, and Odalia’s eye twitched ever so slightly. “Oh? Is that so?”

Bump nodded. “Indeed. When Emperor Belos rose to power, he signed a treaty with every school on the Boiling Isles. As long as our curriculum adjusts to what he wishes the children to be taught, the Emperor’s Coven has no jurisdiction under school grounds of any kind. I understand if you hadn’t been notified, as your integration into the Coven is fairly recent.”

Odalia frowned slightly. “I… see.” She said, irritation barely concealed in her voice. “In that case, as Amity Blight’s mother I request you immediately call for her so I can personally take her home and bring her before the Coven.”

Bump raised his eyebrow. “I’m afraid that’s not possible either.”

Now Odalia’s fury was clearly visible, but she somehow managed to keep her tone collected. “And why might that be,  _ Principal Bump _ ?”

“Well, since you’ve banished Amity from your family, you’re no longer her legal guardian. In fact, I have just finished sorting out her paperwork. Her guardians are now Edalyn and Lilith Clawthorne, and so only they can retrieve her from school.” Bump gave her a grin smug, leaning forward. “And if you don’t want to discuss anything about Edric or Emira, then I believe we’re done here, am I correct?”

Odalia shot him a glare, shooting up from her chair. “This doesn’t end here, Bump.” And with that, the Blight turned to the door with a huff, slamming it closed. Bump waited for a few seconds, then drew a spell circle, Amity becoming visible again.

The girl was visibly shaking, staring at Bump in disbelief. He just shrugged. “Can’t let Hexside’s best student end up in the Conformatorium, can I?” Bump then drew another spell circle, a chunk of the wall suddenly opening like a door. “You can use the Room of Shortcuts to return to class, I doubt Mrs. Blight will give up that easily.”

Amity nodded. “I- Thank you.” Bump simply nodded back at her before digging into some book, quickly writing down things with his quill. Amity walked into the Room of Shortcuts, closing the door behind her.

The girl looked around the room in awe. It was a large, tall room with a spiralling staircase going upwards, walls plastered with doors of all kinds. She carefully examined every single one of them within her reach, until finally finding one that seemed close enough. She opened it slowly, and found herself on a corner of a hallway, close to her class.

And next to the door was Odalia, waiting for her. She let out a yelp and quickly turned around the corner, flattening herself against the lockers. How did she get there already? Her mother was waiting for her, that was for sure, and if she caught her…

_ Clack, clack _ . Her mother’s heels. She was moving. She was moving towards  _ her _ . Odalia knew where she was, she was going to take her away and seal her in some dungeon for even daring to escape from under her grasp. It was over. She felt her legs quiver, a choked sob building up in her throat. She wanted to scream, to cry, to just curl up in a ball and let the floor swallow her. There was nothing she could do.

A blur of white and black suddenly sped down the hallway, stopping dead on its track in front of her. Azura. The cockatrice opened its wings, neck feathers puffed, and when Odalia finally turned around the corner with her trademark Blight grin, instead of her daughter she found herself face to face with 1,000 pounds of feathery rage.

The woman let out a surprised yelp, taking a step back. The woman readied to summon her staff, but decided against it. Causing a scene at Hexside wasn’t worth it, she’d get what she wanted, eventually. Odalia simply glared at the beast, who hissed at her, and turned her back to it.

Amity simply stood there in silence, not moving an inch until the cockatrice relaxed. The girl then launched herself against the animal, hugging her tightly. “Thank you.” She whispered.

“Azura! There you are!” Yelled a familiar voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is today's chapter! Now THAT was a long one. As always, kudos and comments are appreciated!
> 
> Also fair warning, exam season is upon me so my upload schedule might become a lot more irregular!


	13. Of What Was and What Will Be

“Just focus. The abomination and you are one and the same. Breath in, you got this.”

Amity took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She felt her shoulders relax, a flow of magic leaving her fingertips and slowly floating to her abomination, eagerly awaiting command a few feet away from her. Lilith’s reassuring voice had always helped her focus during practice, although it had taken her a bit to fully trust her again after the convention. And the Luz incident.

“Whenever you’re ready, try to make it pick up that ball.” Lilith said, motioning to an old Grudgby ball laying on the ground. Amity opened her eyes, looking over at the ball. She knew she wanted to pick it up, she just needed to will the Abomination to do it. Like moving a limb. The creature looked over at the ball, took a couple of steps towards it and reached out. Its gooey hand clasped the ball firmly, and slowly lifted it up… Before it promptly went straight through the hand and fell into the ground. The abomination dissolved into a puddle.

“I’m so sorry! I just-” Lilith gently placed a hand on Amity’s shoulder, squeezing it slightly. The witchling’s shoulders tensed briefly with the contact, before relaxing again. “Why can’t I get it right? It’s just an abomination…”

Lilith simply gave her a smile. “Do not beat yourself over it. This is a highly complicated technique, few witches are able to fully unlock this ability.”

“Father has…”

Lilith simply looked at the brunette, concern clear in her eyes. The kid’s gaze was on the ground, looking utterly defeated. Even a week after Eda had offered her to stay in the Owl House, the teen couldn’t escape the pressure her parents had put her under. They were perfect, and she wasn’t. An idea slowly materialized on the Clawthorne’s mind.

“Sure, he has... “ Amity sighed at Lilith’s statement. “...but I bet he has never told you about the Janitor Incident.”

The teen’s head quickly snapped at Lilith. “The… Janitor incident?”

Lilith hummed, a grin in her face. “Indeed. When your father was 15, he tried to master the ability of wordless commands. He summoned an abomination on a Hexside hall after classes ended and tried to make it walk.” Lilith snickered, fondly shaking her head. “It exploded instead.”

Amity gasped. “Really?”

Lilith nodded. “When the janitor saw him, they threw their mop demon at him and nailed him in the head. Your father spent entire hours trying to pry himself free from the mop’s tentacles. He had to wear makeup for months to hide the marks left by the suction cups.”

Amity giggled at the thought, her cold and professional father wildly swinging his arms around with a mop trapping his head. Amity sighed, looking at Lilith. “Eda and you know my father, don’t you?”

Lilith looked at the ground, her smile fading. “We did… Why?”

“He never told us about his childhood, we just assumed he was like Mother. But… The way you talk about him...”

Lilith grimaced. “Your father and us… We were close once. If any of the three needed help with anything, the other two would jump to the rescue.” A fond smile grew on Lilith’s face. “It was mostly Edalyn and your father beating up some bullies who stole my lunch money.”

Lilith nodded to the backdoor of the Owl House, signaling Amity to follow her “But I think we should head back inside, I believe this will be a lengthy story.”. The girl nodded, following her mentor -and now legal guardian, apparently- inside. The two walked over to the living room, finding King sleeping on the couch.

Lilith sat down first, awakening the demon. He let out a “weh!” before quickly raising to his feet. “Who dares awaken the King of Demons!” He looked at Lilith, then at Amity, who had already sat down next to the witch. “You! Magicless Servant and Cupcake Smasher, explain yourselves right now!”

Amity rolled her eyes. “King, it’s been months! I already apologized!”

The demon simply crossed his arms, averting his gaze with a huff. “Your treachery is unforgivable!”

The two witches shared a look, Lilith simply shrugged. Amity sighed. “Fine, I’ll give you belly scratches.” King opened one of his eyes, looking at Amity.

“The King of Demons deems the offering… Acceptable.” And with that, King quickly scurried over to Amity, all but slithering over Lilith’s lap before resting on the girl’s, flopping himself face up. Amity chuckled, rubbing the demon’s stomach.

Lilith rolled her eyes. “Anyways… Where was I… Oh right.” Lilith cleared her throat. “As I was saying, your father was practically a third Clawthorne sibling, we were really close friends. However, he was the closest to Edalyn.”

Amity blinked in surprise. “With Eda?! My  _ father?! _ ”

Lilith nodded. “If you think your twin siblings are a… problematic duo, you should have seen Edalyn and your father. There was not a secret room, passage or storage in Hexside either of them didn’t know about. To say they were troublemakers would be an understatement.” Lilith smiled, playing with her fingers. “They were like twins separated at birth.”

The two stayed there in silence, the only sounds of the room the snores of the now asleep King, Amity deep in thought, processing the revelation she had just been provided with. “What happened?”

“Your father… He started to grow distant during our last year at Hexside. By the end, he ignored us all together. To this day I do not know why…”

Amity nodded. That sounded more like her father, distant and cold.

“I know why.” A voice suddenly claimed. The two witches looked at the living room’s entry, leaning on the doorframe was Eda, arms crossed and frown on her face. The infamous Owl Lady made her way to the center of the living room, summoning a chair and flopping down on it. “Dang, shame Luz had to study for that plant magic test, kid loves backstories.” Eda said with a chuckle. “Just as Lily said, Al started ignoring us around senior year with no explanation. That is, until the Field day.”

Lilith averted her gaze, shame clearly visible in her face. That was the day she cursed Eda. The younger Clawthorne shot her a glare, then sighed. 

* * *

Eda checked her scroll once again with a sigh.

“He hasn’t answered yet?” Lilith asked. Her sister shook her head.

“Nope, not even read. I know he’s hanging out with those rich assholes now but he could at least say hi or something! I mean, it’s our last day of school for Titan’s sake!” Eda yelled, vanishing her scroll and throwing her arms up in rage.

Lilith sighed, shaking her head. “Edalyn…”

“After everything we’ve gone through, he’s just gonna leave us hanging like this! I just…” Eda lowered her gaze, crossing her arms. “What happened to that whole ‘Lord Calamity and the Paladin’ thing? We had even planned one final prank for today...”

Lilith grimaced, looking at her sister. She had never seen Eda so utterly down, even during her worst moments there was a spark there, be it of anger of mischief, but not now. It was almost as if she had lost a brother. A pang of guilt hit Lilith, a reminder of what she had done the previous night, but she quickly pushed it down. Only for a day.

“I am sure he will at least show up for our duel. I bet he’ll root for you.” Lilith said with a shy smile, gently nudging her sister. Eda let a weak smile appear on her face.

“He better, I’d kick your sorry butt with my eyes closed!” Eda proudly declared, nudging her sister back.

Lilith rolled her eyes. “You have such an ego, it’s a wonder it hasn’t collapsed on itself.”

Eda chuckled, crossing her arms. “It’s not ego if it’s true.”

Before Lilith could answer, a scroll notification dinged. Eda quickly summoned hers, her smug grin falling in an instant. 

“Who is it?”

“It’s him.” Eda frowned, then looked at Lilith. “He asked me to meet him in the Room of Shortcuts.”

Lilith nodded, letting Eda go. The younger sister quickly made her way behind the Grudgby stand, carefully feeling on the back of the seats before finding the hidden trap door. With a spell circle, the stand opened like a door, and she jumped in.

The girl quickly shut the trapdoor behind her, and looked up the spiral staircase at the center of the room. Sitting there was a boy with auburn hair and golden eyes. Alador. Eda slowly climbed up the stairs, eyes fixated on the boy.

“Long time no see, eh?” Eda said, eyeing her friend. Alador frowned slightly with a sigh, then looked at Eda.

“About that…”

Eda raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Please tell me you haven’t been avoiding me because my dashing looks finally made you fall for me.” She snarked. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same". Alador didn’t even react at the jest, causing the girl to frown.

“Eda…”

Her snarky smile quickly faded, worry was now plastered on her face. She quickly sat down. “Yeah?”

“My parents… They talked to me a while ago. They… They told me when I am of age, I am to marry Odalia.”

Eda’s eyes widened in surprise, disgust clearly visible in her features. “The Blight?! Eugh, that’s… Ew. I can ruin the wedding if you want” 

Alador bitterly chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about that, I’ll survive.”

Eda frowned, now looking straight ahead. “But… I still don’t get what that has to do with giving Lily and I the cold shoulder for months.”

Alador averted his gaze, fists tightening. “My parents… They also told me… If I am to marry Odalia, I have to cut ties with you.”

Eda quickly shot upright, disbelief in her face. “What?!”

Alador simply nodded. “They said me associating with you would taint my re-”

“I know that!” Eda quickly cut him off. Alador looked at his friend, who had practically turned red with anger. “I know your parents are snobby rich idiots! What I didn’t know is that you’re a coward!”

Alador’s eyes widened. “What?!”

“You heard me! So mommy and daddy told you to stop seeing your best friend and you just obey like a lapdog?!”

Alador was now standing up too. “You think I didn’t try to argue back?! That I just accepted without question?! That I want to become a bloody Blight?!”

“Oh no, baby got angwy at mommy and daddy for a bit and then accepted! What a courageous rebel!”

“Edalyn, you don’t know what you’re talking about!” The boy said, pointing a finger at Eda. The girl simply looked at it, unphased.

“You know, Alador. I considered you more than a friend. You were like a brother to Lily and me, but I know a brother would have fought tooth and nail for us. Glad to see where you stand.”

Alador made to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth. Eda turned around. “I’m having a duel with Lilith later, just thought I’d let you know.” She said, voice cracking. “Goodbye Al. Congrats on the engagement.” 

With that, Eda quickly rushed out of the room, leaving Alador behind.

* * *

“Later at the duel, I saw him next to Odalia. He looked so… Distant. I’d like to think there was some regret in his eyes but…” Eda shook her head with a sigh. “The only thing I remember after transforming was Lily’s worry, which I guess was actually regret,” She added, glaring at Lilith for a second, who quickly averted her face in shame. “and Alador looking away while the others laughed.”

Everyone in the room was dead silent. Lilith was looking at her feet in shame, the guilt of that day hitting her full force. King had woken up during the story, and even then he hadn’t dared to say a word. And Amity… The girl’s shock was easily visible, eyes open wide and mouth hanging. She had gone pale.

“Kid? You alright?” Eda’s voice snapped her out of her stupor. Amity blinked, looking at the Owl Lady, then at Lilith and at the demon sitting on her lap.

“Y-yeah… I just…” She picked King up, lifting him from her lap and gently placing him on the couch besides her. “I… I’ll be in my room.”

Amity quickly got up, heading to the stairs and then to the room she shared with Luz, leaving the other residents of the Owl House behind. She plopped down on her mattress-bed, thoughts racing at full speed in her mind with the revelations. The girl then sat up, resting her elbows on her knees, and her forehead on one of her hands.

Everything suddenly made sense. Her father’s distance, his apathy, his slight frowns and grimaces when both him and her mother spoke to her, that cold, unfeeling gaze… He was like she had been until meeting Luz.

Her father and her shared the same walls.

* * *

Alador checked his pocket watch. He had agreed to meet with Viney at five, thanks to Emira acting as an intermediary, and he was now standing on the stairs of the Bonesborough library. It was still rather early for their meeting, but he had prefered to leave as soon as possible, if only to be able to spend some time outside of his studio signing papers. Some people had given him odd looks, probably due to his rather fancy outfit, but he had learned not to care about that. Not like any pickpocket would stand a chance against him anyways.

He spotted a teenager rushing through the crowds. She was rather short and stocky, with a fishing hook on one ear and brown hair on a bun. Even through his foggy memory he managed to recognize her, seeing her quickly climb up the stairs. She looked nervous.

“Mr. Blight! I- I’m sorry if I am late, I-”

The man raised a hand, Viney’s mouth snapping shut. “Worry not, I’d say you’re right on time. It’s me who arrived early.” Viney quickly nodded. “You can relax, whatever the outcome of this conversation is, your relationship with my daughter will not be affected. I am merely curious about your studies, that’s all.”

Viney nodded again, feeling her hands shaking with nerves. The two stood there for a few seconds, an awkward tension between them. Alador coughed. “Follow me, please.”

Viney frowned for a second. Was that man going to guide her through the public library? She quickly pushed her doubt down, remembering what Emira had told her about questioning her parents, even if her father had been acting strangely nice that day, so she quickly followed him inside.

The two greeted the librarian, who surprisingly didn’t seem intimidated by Alador, and the Blight then led them through several different sections of the library, until he stopped in front of a large bookshelf in the non-fiction section, built against the library wall.  _ Abominations _ , it read.

Alador quickly looked around the different books, then his lips pulled up ever so slightly in a smirk. He pulled several books, not taking them off the shelf. Viney raised an eyebrow in confusion, at least until a metallic  _ click  _ came from the shelf, sliding out of the way to reveal a secret room.

Viney’s eyes widened with a gasp, and Alador couldn’t help but let a smug grin out.

“I believe here we will be able to converse without any disturbance.” Alador stepped aside to let the girl in, perhaps too courtly. He cursed himself internally, constantly spending time in elegant gallas had influenced him more than he had thought.

Viney hesitated for a second, but stepped into the room with Alador close behind, the bookshelf behind them quickly snapping back into place as Alador summoned several light spells to illuminate the room. The room itself was large, with several empty shelves and a large desk with a chair, some bean bag chairs laying on the ground. The place had collected a considerable layer of dust, as if it hadn’t been used in years.

“...wow” Was all the girl managed to utter. Alador let out a fond sigh, looking around his old secret room. It was much larger and fancier than Eda’s, or Amity’s now he supposed, something he had teased Eda about for years. Aside from all the books that had been moved back to Blight manor, everything else was intact.

He quickly shook those thoughts away before getting lost in the past, and walked over to his old chair. With a quick spell, all the dust of the room was gone and he sat down. He then motioned to one of the bean bags, inviting Viney to sit down on it. The girl quickly complied, plopping down on one, yelping as she felt herself sink into it. Alador chuckled.

The two stayed in complete silence for a few minutes, Viney too intimidated and surprised to say anything whatsoever, and Alador trying to find the right words not to scare the girl off. The awkward tension between the two could have been cut with a knife.

“I didn’t know there were secret rooms in the library.” The teen finally said, shyly looking around the room, back still stiff as a plank. Alador almost sighed in relief, glad the girl had finally said something.

“As far as I know, there are two. This one, and a smaller one. I believe my youngest has claimed the second one as her own.” Viney nodded, and the two fell silent again.

Alador barely managed to hide a groan and leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees. “Now, what we have come here for. I believe my daughter said you’re studying both healing and beast keeping, is that correct?”

Viney nodded. Silence again.

“How come? Seems like an odd combination.” The man asked, raising an eyebrow. Viney couldn’t help but gulp.

“W-well… I was originally part of the healing track b-but… I uh, I really liked beasts. Especially… Griffins. And I realized griffins would uh, would give other griffins metallic objects. And I-I thought I could use that natural instinct to train a griffin to give me healing tools, like- like a scalpel.”

The girl felt a cold sweat running down her neck, the Blight patriarch’s golden eyes staring right at her, feeling like daggers. He frowned. “I see… Emira did mention something about your beast helping you with spells if I recall correctly. How is a griffin capable of casting spells?”

Viney looked at Alador’s golden eyes, and to her surprise they didn’t look stern, or judging. They were legitimately curious. She felt herself relax ever so slightly. “Well… I was reading a book about Gryphonid anatomy and… I saw griffins don’t have any organ that produced anything resembling spiders, and there was no mention of symbiotic spiders either so…”

Alador’s eyes widened, lighting up with realization. “They’re an illusion spell."

Viney gave him a shy smile, nodding. “Yeah, and if they can use illusion magic like that, I figured with some training they could learn healing spells too.”

“Have you accomplished that?” Alador quickly asked. Viney nodded once again. “Yes, so far Puddles only knows simple painkilling spells, but even that still helps to streamline the healing process a lot. And if I could find other beasts with magical abilities too it’d probably make it much easier, both for Puddles and me, but I can’t find any information here in the library.”

Alador slowly nodded, deep in thought. “I must say, your research is highly interesting. I don’t know how far you will be allowed to progress under the current coven system, but…” The man leaned back, resting his back on the seat’s back. “...I think it’s worth testing the limits of the system, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Y-yes sir.”

Alador grinned. He didn’t know why, but he felt especially cocky. Perhaps being in his old secret room contributed. “You know, I’ll put the offer out: The Blight private library has a selection of bestiaries of all kinds. Odalia barely uses it, and when she does it’s to research oracle magic, which means you may take any book you might need for your projects. Just tell Emira what you need, and she’ll get you the book.”

Viney blinked in surprise. “Really?” 

Alador hummed. “Indeed, you will surely put those books to much better use than any of us.” His voice fell ever so slightly, remembering that day 11 years prior, when his son had announced he wanted to join the beast keeping track. Yet another time he had failed his children. Unless…

“Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to ask you about this… dual tracking option Bump has introduced. Do you mind explaining it to me?”

Viney raised an eyebrow. “W-well… I think if a student wishes to multi-track they have to talk to Bump in person… He calls their parents for a confirmation a-and then the student has to do an entry exam for the new track…” Viney wanted to ask why Alador wanted to know, but she knew better than to question a Blight.

The man nodded. “I… See.” A million thoughts raced through his mind. Was Edric still interested in beast keeping? Would it be too late for him to dual track? Could he dual track without Odalia’s knowledge? Could Alador risk defying his wife so openly? He’d need to go over it. “Well, I must say, it was a pleasure finally being able to meet you, Viney. Unfortunately, I must return to the Manor. If you need any sources for your research, do not hesitate to ask Emira.”

Viney nodded, quickly standing up at the same time as Alador. “T-thank you, sir.” 

* * *

Odalia Blight slammed her fist on her desk, letting out a furious yell that could be almost considered a  _ roar _ . Just who did Bump think he was to challenge her authority? He would pay in due time, no doubt. She would find the way to punish him for that. And that… hideous thing, where did it even come from? Since when did Amity have a guard beast?!

She quickly summoned her crystal ball, her eyes turning dark purple. She had to see it. Her daughter had never even been close to anything relating to beast keeping, her family was above such foul peasant arts. Then she saw it, a week prior. Her daughter, holding hands with the  _ human _ girl, her noble mint hair gone and helping tame a filthy, disgusting creature. Her daughter had abandoned all sense of decency.

The woman snapped out of her trance with another roar, tossing her crystal ball aside. Its spirit quickly came out of it, stopping it from crashing against the wall. The spirit then floated up to Odalia, who was now rubbing her forehead.

“Those damned Clawthornes… They are nothing but leeches! Criminal scum corrupting anyone they interact with! I swear to the Titan, if they even dare show their faces near me they will wish to be petrified. How dare Amity confide with those disgusting peasants and their… human pet! After everything I’ve done for her!”

The oracle spirit quickly wrapped itself around Odalia, emitting a dark purple light. The woman took a deep breath, feeling the spirit’s magic slowly connecting with her own, calming her down. A thousand possible futures flashed before her eyes, a grin growing in her face. That day had only been a setback, now that the cockatrice was accounted for, there would be nothing to stop her.

A knock on her door quickly snapped her out of her thoughts. “Mrs. Blight?” She heard the voice of a guard. “Emperor Belos wishes to see you.”

Odalia quickly straightened herself, smoothing her hair. Her oracle spirit retreated to its crystal ball again, and she opened the door. The guard stepped aside, letting her pass, and she walked down the several halls of the castle until finally standing before the throne room’s gates.

She pushed the door open, the Titan’s beating heart hung above Belos’s throne, a servant quickly running out of the room with what looked like a cracked Palisman. Belos was looking at her with a strange magical aura around him. Odalia kneeled.

“I am at your service, Emperor Belos.” 

“Ah, Odalia. Good to see you could make it so quickly. I wanted to discuss your first mission as head of the Coven.” Odalia nodded, feeling the Emperor slowly walking over to her. “Lilith was to retrieve the portal to the human world when she captured the Owl Lady. Unfortunately, Edalyn outsmarted us, as it wasn’t on her when we inspected her Beast form. We believe it is hidden somewhere in the Owl House, but we are yet to locate it.”

The emperor snapped his fingers, a cloaked figure with an owl mask on them stepping forward from the shadows. “Tyto has been keeping a close eye on the Owl House for a while now, so they will give you any information they have collected. From now on, Tyto is under your service. Bring me the portal to the human realm, and both the Owl Lady and the Raven Lady if necessary before the Day of Unity.”

Odalia couldn’t help but slightly grin. With Tyto under her command, there was nothing that could stop her from getting the portal. And there was nothing the Clawthornes could do to keep Amity in that path of self-destructive degeneration. Everything was going as she had forseen.

“It shall be done, my lord.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Blight parents' fates start to diverge and Amity comes to a horrible realization! 
> 
> The reason Azura didn't show up in Odalia's premonitions will be explained in due time. As always, leave a kudo and a comments if you liked this chapter!


	14. Owls, cockatrices and dragons

Luz turned on her sleeping bag once again, eyes shut tight. Nothing, sleep evaded the girl once again. She put her hands on top of her eyes and let out a quiet groan in desperation, before a defeated sigh. Her mind was on Earth once again, on her mother. In barely a couple of weeks she was supposed to come back home from camp and go back to her normal life. But she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t leave everyone behind like that. Eda, King, Lilith, Willow, Gus…  _ Amity _ .

As if on cue, she heard the other girl shift on her own makeshift bed. Luz turned to face her, even under the dim moonlight she could easily see her features. Her pale white skin reflecting the silver light of the moon, auburn hair messily spread across the pillow. Luz then realized Amity was frowning.

The witchling let out a groan in her sleep, and turned again. And again. Her frown became even more pronounced, breathe became shaky, skin started to get even paler… Luz’s eyes widened with realization. Amity was having a nightmare.

“Ami?” Luz said, hoping to wake her up. Nothing. The human frowned. “Amity?” She asked once again, this time a bit louder, but the witch only groaned and kept tossing and turning in her sleep. Amity’s nightmare was visibly starting to get worse, the teen now constantly turning and shaking and breathing heavily.

Luz quickly wiggled herself out of her sleeping bag, all but lunging at her girlfriend. She firmly grasped Amity’s shoulder and gently shook it. “Amity!”

The witch opened her eyes wide with a gasp, quickly grabbing Luz’s wrist and looking around in a frenzy. First thing she knew Luz was hugging her. Amity’s eyes kept darting around, a cold sweat running down her back as she tried to recognize the room she was in. She felt herself hyperventilate.

“Easy there.” The human whispered. “You okay?”

Amity slowly got her breath under control, hesitantly returning the hug. “Y-Yeah… Just a nightmare.”

Luz hummed softly, feeling the witch’s grip around her tightening. “Your parents again?” The human whispered. She felt Amity nod, the witch’s head now resting on her shoulder. Luz frowned, this was far from the first time Amity had had a nightmare involving her parents in the short span of time she had stayed at the Owl House. To think one’s own parents would give them such intense, recurring nightmares made Luz’s blood boil, made her want to take Owlbert and give the Blights a piece of her mind. And her glyphs.

The human girl took a deep breath, trying to calm down. This wasn’t what Amity needed, she needed someone to feel safe with, not someone boiling with rage. And so the two simply stayed like that for a few minutes, hugging each other as tightly as possible, Amity gripping Luz like her life depended on it. It was nice.

Finally, Amity spoke. “Luz?”

“Yeah?”

Luz felt Amity’s face heat up, no doubt one of her trademark blushes rearing its head. “I- Nothing, it’s dumb.”

“D’aww, come on, what is it?”

She felt Amity hesitate. “I… Uh… Could you… Sleep with me tonight?”

Luz’s eyes widened in surprise, face turning bright red. She threw herself back, breaking the hug. “W-WHAT?!”

Amity frowned, confused, then her eyes widened, red going down her neck by that point. “Titan no, not like that!” She quickly reassured, throwing her hands up in the air. “I just-” The former Blight lowered her gaze, rubbing one of her arms.

That’s when Luz saw it. She looked like a lost kid, scared of going back to sleep. She finally understood what the other girl meant and gave her a smile. “Hey, it’s okay. I get it. After Eda was captured I spent the entire prep week sleeping with King.” Luz chuckled “Be careful with wording next time though”

Amity chuckled, feeling her blush slowly coming back. “So uh… I get if you don’t want to...” Really, Luz had absolutely no reason to do it. They had only been dating for a week at best, the fact that they shared a room was already astonishing. And sure, they had shared Amity’s bed the night they got her stuff, but it was mostly them falling on the mattress, completely exhausted from the emotional tornado that day had been.

And yet, Luz gently crawled over to Amity’s makeshift bed with one of those infuriatingly adorable smiles Amity hated and loved at the same time. “It’s fine. I said I get it, didn’t I?” Luz crawled under the bed sheets behind Amity, who hesitantly laid back down. 

As soon as the witch was on the bed again, she felt the other girl hug her from behind. Amity let out a surprised yelp, and the hug was quickly broken.

“S-sorry! I should’ve asked-”

“No, no! It’s fine! I just... Wasn’t expecting it.” Luz let out an awkward hum, then slowly wrapped her arms around Amity again. The two snuggled together, Amity letting out a content hum as she felt the human’s warmth envelop her. She felt safe.

“Luz?” She whispered. The other girl answered with a questioning hum. “Sorry for waking you up.”

She felt Luz slowly rest her head on her shoulder. “You didn’t.”

Amity frowned. “Wait, you were awake? Why?”

Luz sighed. “Just… Thinking about stuff.”

“Your mom?”

Amity felt Luz nodding. “Yeah… I thought maybe… I could try this weekend. I haven’t told Eda yet but, you know, might as well get this over with.” 

Amity instinctively placed one of her hands on Luz’s. “Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be okay. We can do this together.”

Luz smiled. “Yeah. We can do this.”

Luz then planted a quick peck on Amity’s cheek, chuckling a bit as she felt the witch’s face heating up. The duo then fell into a comfortable silence, slowly drifting back to sleep. If they stuck together, nothing would stop them.

However, unbeknown to the two girls a cloaked figure stood on the Owl House’s roof, staring at them through the window. An illusion spell made them invisible, not even Hooty or Azura being able to detect them. Tyto waited for a few seconds, making sure the two teens had fallen asleep. 

Once it was evident they had, the spy swiftly leaped off the roof, satisfied with the information they had gathered. Tyto gracefully landed on their feet, silver rays of moonlight passing right through them. The figure swiftly walked away from the Owl House, steps so light not even a Blood Bat would hear them.

What they didn’t account for, however, was a shift in the direction of the wind. A wind that was now carrying their scent right towards the vigilant cockatrice stalking the undergrowth surrounding the Owl House.

A sudden mass of black and white feathers leaped from the vegetation right at Tyto, who barely managed to dodge the beast in time. Azura landed on her feet, quickly turning around to the now visible spy and growling, feathers puffed.

The animal screeched, wings wide open and eyes shining a deep purple. However, the petrifying lights were deflected by the assasin’s mask, bright purple rays bouncing off the mask, the surrounding grass turning into rock. The cloaked witch then quickly slid along the ground, throwing a kick to the beast’ snout.

Azura snarled and bit into Tyto’s ankle, tossing them aside before pouncing at the witch. Tyto grunted as the cockatrice landed right on top of them, biting their metal mask and thrashing it around. The witch acted quickly, drawing a spell circle that summoned a pair of vines, which wrapped around Azura’s body and took her off them.

Azura fell on her back with a hiss and swiftly got back on her feet, growling at Tyto. They shifted their stance, sliding their feet on the ground, ready to move. The cockatrice let out a low gurgle, tapping the now stony ground with her sickle claws.

The two opponents stayed still for a few seconds, beast and witch waiting for the other to make their first move. Tyto slowly reached for the belt under their cloak, a move that didn’t go unnoticed.

Azura pounced once again, Tyto drew a dagger. Time all but slowed down as the creature leaped towards the witch, blade pointed at the cockatrice. The beast’ plumage and hide were thick, the stab had to be precise.

Azura landed on top of Tyto. A few seconds of silence that felt like an eternity. Then, a couple of blue drops fell on Tyto’s cloak. Azura hissed in pain, quickly getting off the assassin. She stumbled on her feet, then collapsed.

Tyto got back on their feet, silently making their way over to Azura. The animal was baring her teeth, hissing and puffing. The dagger was embedded under her left wing, a thin stream of blue blood running on the grass under her.

Tyto kneeled, swiftly jamming the dagger out of her body. The animal roared in pain and tried to get on her feet but fell over, letting out a pained hiss when she tried to support her weight on her wings to get up.

Tyto stared at the animal for a few seconds before drawing an orange spell circle. Azura’s eyes glowed accordingly and went limp, falling into a deep sleep. They then turned around, retreating back into the shadows.

* * *

Alador opened the gates of the manor with a tired sigh, taking off his cloak and teleporting it back to his closet with a quick spell circle. He made his way to one of the many living rooms of the mansion, more specifically the one with the fireplace, and dropped down on his couch.

“I see you have returned.” Odalia said, watching him from her own seat. He was too tired for this.

“Indeed. It has been... A long day.”

“I take it your research project has not gone well.” Odalia said, raising an eyebrow. Alador scoffed.

“The abomination  _ absorbed an intern _ . That witch is going to spend weeks at the healer’s just for the psychological effects alone.” Alador shuddered, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “We just can’t pinpoint the ingredients necessary for this to work.”

“Have you consulted our private library recently? Perhaps there’s some material there that could be of use.”

Alador nodded. “Indeed I have, but it was fruitless.” He remembered the conversation he had had with Viney the previous Monday and sighed. “I… Have considered requesting permission for an inter-coven collaboration with the Potions Coven.”

Odalia frowned. “Inter-coven collaboration? Sounds like a less illegal way to say mixing magic, dear.”

“It’s not mixing magic.” Alador clarified, exhaustion clear in his voice. “The potion coven would simply lend a hand by selecting better ingredients to streamline the abomination creation process. Quite frankly, even a freshman potions track student knows more about alchemic ingredients than my entire coven combined.” Alador then leaned forward, rubbing his forehead. “I just need to officially request permission from the Emperor’s Coven to go ahead.”

Odalia simply nodded. “I see. You do raise a good point, dear. I suppose I can make it so your request is approved.”

Alador couldn’t help but let a small smile crack through. It was a nice feeling, to pretend they were a normal marriage, even if it was just for a few seconds. “You have my gratitude, Odalia.”

His wife simply nodded, then summoned her scroll. She grinned ever so slightly, then got up. “I’m afraid I have to head to my studio, dear. An important matter has come up.”

Alador nodded in response, seeing his wife leave the room. He felt his eyes slowly closing themselves shut, sleep overcoming him, but quickly blinked the tiredness away. He got up with a groan, feeling his left knee pop. Age was starting to catch up with him.

He then walked out of the room, heading to the main stairway, and slowly walked it up, headed for his room. He stopped dead on his track when the sound of something crashing came from Edric’s room.

He muttered something under his breath, and turned around towards his son’s room. He was soon standing before the room’s closed door. He moved to open it, but stopped himself and knocked with a sigh. “Edric?” Silence. “I am coming in.”

With that, Alador opened the door. He found Edric sitting on his bed, stiff as a board and a forced smile on his face. “F-father! Sorry for not answering, I-”

“Is everything alright?” Alador quickly interrupted. “I heard the sound of something breaking.” He saw Edric pale, but didn’t say anything.

“Oh! I-I accidentally broke a lamp… I was done studying so I decided to head to bed and I knocked it over. I apologize.”

Alador frowned. “I see… You do realize the new lamp will come from your allowance, right?”

Edric quickly nodded. “Yes father, I understand.”

Alador nodded solemnly. “Very well. Be more careful in the future, Edric.” He then turned to the door, ready to exit the room. Then a chirp came from the teen’s bed.

A few seconds passed, Edric’s heart all but stopped. Alador then drew a spell circle, closing the door and setting up a deafening spell. Oh no.

“F-father! I can explain!”

Alador turned back to his son. “Where is it.” He said, question almost coming out as a sentence. Edric wanted to lie, to run away, to do  _ anything  _ but reveal the truth. And yet, he gently pulled back his bed sheet with a defeated sigh. As soon as he did, a gentle teal light illuminated the room.

On the mattress, a tiny ball of fuzz and light was curled up, huge round eyes staring owlishly at Edric. The animal then let out a yawn, revealing that what looked like a small mouth was actually comically large, it almost looked like a sock puppet. Alador’s eyes widened in recognition. A fairy dragon, and a fairly young one at that. He had to admit, it looked adorable.

“I- I found him around a week ago. He-He looked lost so…”

“You’ve been taking care of a fairy dragon for an entire week?” Alador asked, raising an eyebrow. Edric shakily nodded.

“He usually stays outdoors on the trees b-but… Tonight he… He looked nervous? So I- I let him in-”

The older Blight walked towards the bed, the tiny animal looking at him. Its wings slowly started to emit a reddish light, its eyes widening and body tensing up. Alador froze in place. “Uh… May I…?”

Edric frowned for a second, then quickly understood. He turned to the tiny dragon, gently soothing it as he slowly scooped it up. The animal’s whole body slowly relaxed, its wings glowing teal again. The teen the gently, and slightly hesitantly, brought the animal over to his father.

Alador looked at the fairy dragon, carefully not getting too close. “How have you been able to take care of it?”

“W-well, I’ve done some research at the library and-” Alador chuckled, causing Edric to freeze mid sentence. The man shook his head.

“Edric, I am perfectly aware of your library ban. And before you ask, no, your mother does not know anything about it.”

Edric shakily nodded, looking down at the tiny fairy dragon on his hands. “I… I didn’t lie, father. I have been doing research…” He carefully drew a spell circle with one of his index fingers, still holding the animal. The circle was Beast Keeping orange. Once the circle was completed, the fairy dragon perked its head up and quickly fluttered over to Edric’s shoulder.

The older Blight widened his eyes in surprise. “You’ve been learning beast keeping magic behind our backs?” Edric simply winced and nodded. The fairy dragon looked at its master with a coo, and gently nuzzled his cheek, emitting a gentle yellow light.

Alador sighed. “While I do not approve of you practicing magic without our authorization… I must admit your skills are remarkable, Edric, especially taking into account you taught yourself beast keeping.”

He tentatively raised his hand towards the fairy dragon, its light turning green with curiosity. To the surprise of both Blights, it hopped off Edric’s shoulder and into Alador’s hand with a squeak. “I am afraid dual tracking is not a possibility, your mother would certainly not approve. However, I know Emira’s… partner is a beast keeper.” Alador hesitantly raised his other hand to the fairy dragon, pleased to see it didn’t tense up, and carefully scratched its head. “Perhaps she could tutor you, if that’s okay for both of you of course.”

Edric’s eyebrows all but shot up to his hairline in surprise, then he quickly nodded. “Yes father, that would be great. Thank you.”

Alador simply nodded at his son, then looked back at the fairy dragon. “Have you named it?”

Edric nodded. “I… I found him the day Amity left so… I named him Mitts.” The creature perked his head up at the mention of his name, and quickly flew over to his master. Edric let him land on his head.

“I see…” Alador headed to the door. “Oh, and Edric? Be careful. Your mother could hear Mitts.” With that, the man removed the silencing spell from the room and left.

* * *

Luz’s room was opened with a slam, causing both Amity and Luz to jump out of their sleep with a simultaneous scream. The two teens looked at the door, a visibly panicked King panting. He took a couple of breaths, and looked up at the two. His frowned. “Ew, mushy teenage romance.”

The two girls quickly crawled away from each other, faces completely red. “Don’t you know how to knock?!” Yelled Amity, who looked ready to murder the tiny demon. “Or at least open the door so we don’t have a heart attack?!”

King shook his head, as if remembering what he had gone to the room for. “That’s right! It’s your beast! It’s-!”

Luz’s eyes widened in horror, quickly running out of the ‘bed’ on all fours and to the demon. “King? What happened to Azura?” She asked, face to face with King.

“I don’t know! But it looks injured! Eda told me to tell you and-” Before the demon could finish his sentence Luz had already taken off the room in a panicked sprint. Not even Amity asking her to wait up could stop her as the girl ran down the stairs, skipping two or even three steps at a time.

At the end of the stairs was Lilith, giving her a look that reminded Luz too much of the look her mom had given her that time one of the lizards she had as ‘pets’ when she was a toddler was caught by their cat. “Luz…”

The human quickly ran over to Lilith, her usually cheerful and shining brown eyes on the brink of tears. “Where is she?” The girl asked, voice cracking. King and Amity were peeking from upstairs at the two. Amity felt absolutely heartbroken, seeing Luz so scared. She hadn’t seen her like that since Eda’s capture, in addition to a growing worry over the cockatrice that had saved her from her mother a mere few days prior. 

Lilith stepped aside, extending her hand. “The cockatrice is outside. Edalyn is with it, but her beast keeping magic is not the strongest.” Luz flashed past her like a blur, darting outdoors. Amity shyly walked downstairs, followed by King.

“What happened?”

Lilith shook her head. “We do not know yet. When Edalyn and I woke up Hooty said your cockatrice was taking a really long nap. When we walked outside we saw her unconscious and bleeding. We believe she’ll be okay, but our knowledge of beast keeping is rather limited.”

Amity’s ears lowered, gaze going down to the floor. An idea then came to her mind. “Em knows a girl from the beast keeping track, I could see if she can contact her” Lilith nodded, seeing Amity quickly summon her scroll and walk away.

Meanwhile, Luz rushed towards Azura. She could see the animal laying down on the ground, Eda standing a few feet away. The girl was about to get to the cockatrice when something took her shoulder.

“Easy, kid.” She heard Eda say. “I used a painkilling spell on her but she’s still weak. Be gentle, aight?” The witch gave Luz a reassuring smile, and the girl gave her a shaky nod. Eda slowly let her go, letting Luz approach her beast.

“Azura?” Luz croaked, slowly approaching her. The beast let out a coo, weakly looking at her master. Luz kneeled, slowly reaching for her snout. Azula huffed, sniffing the hand before gently nuzzling it. “Ya está. No pasa nada.” Luz whispered, feeling her voice crack a little.

Lilith and Amity soon came out of the house, Amity going over with Luz and Azura. Lilith approached her sister. “Amity has contacted a trustworthy beast keeper. She’s on the way.”

Eda frowned. “Emperor’s Coven must have tried a night raid or something.”

Lilith shook her head. “No… Look at the grass, it’s been petrified. The cockatrice’s light must have been deflected. A foot soldier's uniform doesn’t have that capability.”

Eda raised an eyebrow, looking at her sister. “Where are you getting at?”

The elder Clawthorne sighed. “I know only one person with such enchantments and good enough with the blade to cause a wound like that on an adult cockatrice that could’ve done this. I’m afraid it was Tyto.”

Eda tapped her chin, trying to recall anyone by that name. “Name doesn’t bring a bell.”

“It’s Belos’ right hand and master spy. They must have been gathering information.”

“For what?” Eda asked, but she felt like she knew the answer.

“Belos wants the portal, Edalyn.”

The two stood in silence after that, watching over the two girls as they gently stroked Azura and Amity tried to calm Luz down. Soon a griffin landed near them, a girl with a bun and a fish hook as an earring jumping off it. Apparently Luz knew the girl.

Lilith excused herself, saying she’d call the school and inform them the girls would be late while Viney did her best to heal Azura. After a few minutes the cockatrice’s wound was closed and covered by special healing bandages, and Viney wiped the sweat off her forehead.

Luz pulled her into a tight hug, the beast keeper letting out a wheeze and patting the human’s back. Viney looked over to Amity, who shrugged and gave her a “thank you”.

“It’s… It’s no problem…” Viney managed to get out. “Luz. My ribs.”

Luz quickly stepped back, breaking the hug with a quick apology. Amity rolled her eyes and walked over to her girlfriend’s side.

“Well, luckily whatever did that to your cockatrice didn’t go too deep in, so it’ll heal quickly with the healing spells and glyphs I used. In the meantime, I’d keep her in an enclosure like the ones we have at the stables.”

Eda crossed her arms and nodded. “I can create one, that shouldn’t be an issue. Thanks, kid, let me get you some snails and-”

Viney’s eyes widened in surprise and she quickly raised her hands “Oh no, don’t worry about that! I’m happy to help, really. Especially after how much Luz has done to help me out.” Luz gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back for her neck. Amity smirked, amused.

Eda snorted. “Oh that’s so naive. And dumb. Oh well, you three better head to school I guess. Don’t worry, I’ve handled enough birds in my life. I got this one.”

Luz seemed to want to object, but Amity quickly put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. The human sighed in defeat, and soon enough the duo was riding on the back of a griffon towards Hexside.

Eda looked at them flying away and sighed. She fished the portal key out of her mane, gently rubbing its golden eye. It was the only way for Luz to go back to her home, she’d have to protect it at all costs, but if the Emperor had sent his personal assassin looking for it, there was no telling what would come next.

She quickly put the key back on her hair. Whatever that bonehead threw at her, she’d be waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! As a gift I stabbed the dinosaur!
> 
> As always, leave a kudo and a comment if you liked the chapter!


	15. Strain

The griffon flew swiftly across the Isles’ skies, making her way above the clouds. Viney gently held onto her neck, glancing behind her from time to time to make sure the other two witches didn’t fall off from the beast. Fortunately, they were still there.

Amity was tightly hugging her girlfriend’s waist, a faint blush on her cheeks. She managed to look up at the human. Luz looked… Lost. “Luz? Are you okay?”

Luz blinked. “Hm? Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… I’m thinking about stuff.”

The witchling gave her a smile, carefully letting go of her waist to rest a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Hey, if anything’s wrong you can tell me, okay?”

Luz smiled back and opened her mouth to speak, when Puddles let out a rather loud screech. “Hang on tight!” They heard Viney yell, and first thing they knew the beast was diving downwards.

Amity let out a squeal and went back to hugging Luz for dear life, not that the other girl was doing much better herself, desperately trying to hold onto Puddles’ back feathers. After a few terrifying, adrenaline filled seconds, the griffin slowed down her descent, flapping its wings to slow down and landed near Hexside’s entrance.

Viney hopped off the animal as if nothing had happened, and scratched Puddles’ head. Amity let out a shaky breath, still clinging to Luz.

“Uh… Ami? Can you let go for a sec? I need to get down.” Amity let out a yelp, feeling her face warming up, and quickly let go. Luz shot her a smile and hopped off Puddles, then gave Amity a hand.

The witch took it, carefully getting off the animal. However, she miscalculated the last hop and ended up bumping right into Luz. The poor girl all but froze up at the proximity, even if they were _actually dating now_.

“Dang Blight, I must be a great hugger!” Luz teased, shooting her a smug grin. Amity sighed, letting herself be embraced by the human.

“Not gonna lie, you are.”

Luz cooed at the other girl, and the duo stayed like that for a few seconds. That is, until Viney spoke up, reminding them they weren’t alone.

“Welp, gotta get Puddles back to the stables. See ya around!”

The two girls quickly pulled apart, faces going bright red, and gave Viney a wave, thanking her again for helping out at the Owl House. The two then walked into Hexside, headed for their respective classes and agreeing to meet during lunch, not before Luz gave Amity a quick peck and turned the other girl into a tomato.

Meanwhile, Viney guided her animal towards her enclosure. It was a large grassland space, with a waterfall and a large rock the griffon could use as a perch. She opened the barrier with a spell circle, letting Puddles in, then closed it again.

“See ya during feeding time.” Viney said, and the animal let out a coo as if answering. It wouldn't surprise her if it was an answer, a lot of beasts were smarter than most people thought.

Viney poked at the invisible barrier a couple of times, making sure it was still intact, and prepared to take her leave when she felt something suddenly latching on to her from behind. The beast keeper let out a surprised squeal and quickly prepared to draw a spell circle to get rid of whatever beast that had escaped its enclosure when she heard a voice coming from behind her.

“Aww, aren’t you just a cutie?”

Viney let out an exasperated, albeit relieved sigh, and felt her cheeks turn slightly pink. “What are you doing here?”

Emira leaned forward even more, resting her chin on the shorter girl’s shoulder. “Aw, come on, can’t a girl visit her girlfriend?” The Blight’s golden eyes looked at Puddles, who was eyeing her with curiosity. “And her noble steed, of course!”

Viney rolled her eyes with a teasing grin, cupping Emira’s cheek in her hand. “Yeah, but you should be in class.”

“Ah come on, I got an illusion clone covering for me! Besides, if Mittens can skip first class today then so can I.”

Viney tensed up, dropping her hand from Emira’s face. “Em…”

The twin frowned. “What? I’m just saying, I didn’t see Mittens nor Luz getting to school earlier today so-”

“Their cockatrice was attacked last night, it… It looked like a knife wound. That’s why they were late.”

The two fell silent for a few seconds before Emira spoke up. “I… I didn’t know. Amity just told me they needed your help, I thought…”

“She probably didn’t want to worry you. Don’t worry, they’re okay.”

Viney gently disentangled herself from Emira’s hug, standing face to face with the other girl. “So just wanted to see me, huh? Nothing else at all?”

“Nope!” Emira said. “Nothing at all!”

Viney raised an eyebrow, looking over the taller girl’s shoulder. “Is that why Ed’s trying to hide in that bush over there?”

Emira’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, looking behind her. The bush looked flawless, how could she Viney even know that was Ed?

“I’ve been dating you for weeks, did you seriously think I wouldn’t start to see through invisibility spells?”

Emira blinked. “Color me impressed.” She then turned around to the ‘bush’. “Ed! She’s onto us!”

The boy became visible with a light blue poof, giving the two girls a grin. “Damn, you got a keeper Em!”

Emira shot a glare at her brother, eliciting a chuckle from Viney. “Please don’t murder him, I’d have to clean it up.”

Edric raised an eyebrow, walking over to the couple. “Keep it up and I’m gonna start organizing the wedding.”

“Edric I swear to the Titan…”

“What did I just say about murder?” Viney said with a teasing smirk, then turned to Ed. “And what do I owe this visit for?”

“Well…” Edric said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “Remember that date you went with Em? The one where you found a bunch of fairy dragons?” Viney nodded with a frown. “Well, a young one may or may not have followed you home and I may or may not have adopted him.”

Viney raised an eyebrow. “Okay, but I don’t see how that involves me. Sure I could give you some tips but...”

“Thing is, our father may or may nor have found out and given me permission to be tutored by you on beast keeping magic.” Edric quickly said, awkwardly digging into the ground with his toe.

Viney’s eyes widened. “Okay, hold on. You’re telling me your father, the cold and snobbish Alador Blight, not only allows his daughter to date me, a dual tracker beast keeper, but also allows his son to be trained in beast keeping by said dual tracker?!”

Edric shrugged awkwardly. “Apparently… Yes!”

Emira nodded. “Yeah, after Amity left father has been acting… Weird.”

“You mean like a somewhat decent person?” Viney questioned.

Emira shrugged. “That’s weird for our parents.”

“You guys do realize how sad that is, right?”

The three stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds before Ed cleared his throat. “So, anyways… I thought maybe you could… Go over to the manor this afternoon and teach me some stuff? If that’s okay?”

Viney raised an eyebrow, seemingly deep in thought. “Hm, spend time with my girlfriend and her brother at their mansion?” She shook her head with a chuckle. “Man, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Sure, it’s a deal.”

Edric let out an excited squeal, pulling Viney into a hug. “Thank you!” He then let go just as quickly, running off with a “See ya, teach!”

Viney stood there, blinking away her surprise, and slowly looked at Emira. The taller girl shrugged. “He can get excited.” Emira then leaned in, planting a kiss on Viney’s cheek and winked. “See ya later, cutie.”

* * *

Luz walked into the cafeteria, hands gripping her bag’s strap. The place was in its usual chaos of students laughing, yelling… And she was pretty sure that tray should have not been on fire. And yet, she barely even reacted.

The girl made a beeline towards her usual seat with Willow, Gus and Amity. She probably heard Boscha’s sneers towards her, but she barely even noticed, too deep in thought. She took a seat by Amity’s side, who was deep in a conversation with Gus.

Apparently over the last few days the two had bonded over their gifted kid status and the pressure they put on themselves, although Gus’ dad was fortunately nowhere near as bad as the Blight parents.

Luz fished her lunch out of her bag, a sandwich Lilith had insisted on making. And she couldn’t deny it, it looked great. But she wasn’t hungry. She put the sandwich down with a sigh, resting her cheek on her fist.

“Luz? Everything alright?” Asked someone across the table. Luz lifted her gaze, meeting Willow’s concerned green eyes. Luz realized Amity and Gus’ conversation had stopped, and she saw the two shooting her concerned looks. She felt Amity gently taking her hand and squeezing it.

“I’m fine, really! Just… Got a lot to think about.” Luz assured the group, putting on her best smile. Willow frowned, she wasn’t buying it.

“Is this because of Azura?” Amity asked. “It’s okay, Viney said she’ll be back on her feet in no time.” The witch shot Luz a reassuring smile, gently drawing circles on the human’s hand with her thumb.

“No, it’s not about her… Well it kinda is? But not really.” Luz answered, looking down at her meal. “It’s just… You heard Lilith. Belos is after the portal, and Azura got hurt because of it.”

The human looked at her friends. “It’s my only way home. I just… What if he steals it? I wouldn’t be able to ever go back. I wouldn’t be able to see my mom anymore.”

“Luz…” Amity began, but she was promptly cut off by the human.

“Besides, even if my mom does end up letting me stay she’ll probably want me around at home too. What if… If Belos gets the portal while I’m in the human realm? I wouldn’t be able to see you guys ever again.”

The four fell silent, the weight of those words falling on them like a full grown dragon. Amity, Willow and Gus shared a look. Luz was right in her worries, there was no denying it, but they couldn’t just sit there and let her be consumed by that.

“Hey, come on Luz! If Belos stole the portal we’d just steal it right back!” Gus finally said, a genuine smile on his face. Amity frowned at that, looking at Gus. “What? It’s true! We already got Eda back, what’s a door compared to that? Plus, now Eda is back and at full power! There’s nothing that can beat her now!”

Willow chuckled at Gus’ eagerness, while Amity simply frowned. “Gus might be getting a bit too over his head, but he does raise a good point.” Willow admitted. “Eda has been avoiding the Emperor for decades now, and that was with a curse!”

Amity suddenly pulled Luz into a side hug, rubbing her shoulder. “Yeah, plus I bet Eda will figure something out. I mean, she beat my _dad_! Do you know how hard it is to pull that off?”

Luz shot her a weak, grateful smile. Then frowned. “Wait, how do you know how hard it is to beat your dad in a fight?”

Now all attention shifted to Amity, who averted her gaze. “It’s nothing.” The girl looked at the other three, shooting her concerned looks. “Really guys, we just… He used to spar with me, as training. Mother would watch us. She’d chastise me, saying I wasn’t trying hard enough…”

Luz scoffed. “Yeah right. Your mom also said Willow was weak, yet you’re both some of the most powerful witches I know! Something tells me your mom is just an idiot.”

Both Willow and Gus’ eyes widened in surprise, and Luz felt Amity tense up on her side. “What?”

“No one talks badly about the Blights in public.” Willow explained

“Last time that happened the kids’ parents ended up homeless.” Gus added, eyes frantically darting around.

“Yeah right, I’d like to see them try to get through Eda!” Luz cheerfully announced, now being her the one pulling Amity into a side hug. “I can call her mom dumb and there’s nothing she can do about it!”

Amity looked at the other girl’s determined face and couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, slight blush in her cheeks. “You’re such a dork.”

Luz gave her a grin. “And your fearless champion!” She proclaimed, fist raised in the air. Amity somehow gathered all her courage and gave Luz a quick peck in the cheek, leaving the human girl frozen with a blush.

“Eugh, they’re doing it again!” Gus complained. Willow gently elbowed him and Amity rolled her eyes. Yeah, things were certainly good.

However, what Luz had said earlier was still nagging away at her. She’d have to talk to Eda.

* * *

Alador’s ears perked up, the bell of the mansion’s melody echoing through the halls. He placed his newspaper back on the coffee table in front of him and made his way to the gates. When he opened them, he found himself standing in front of Viney.

“H-hello Mr. Blight! I uh-”

Alador chuckled, standing aside. “Edric informed me of your upcoming session. Please, come in. The twins are waiting for you.”

Viney nodded with a quiet thank you and stepped in. Alador insisted on guiding her to the porch, explaining that it was easy to get lost in the manor. And so, both witches crossed the wide and luxurious halls of the Blight Manor. They passed by the Blight private library -Viney took note of its location- and Odalia’s private studio before reaching a large door.

Alador stepped aside once more, allowing Viney to pass. The girl extended her arm to the overly decorated handle and opened it. Before her was the enormous Blight estate, maroon grass extending back to the pine forest.

The porch itself was made of carefully crafted and polished white wood, with intricate patterns and decorations on the twin pillars holding the porch’s small roof. There were a couple of chairs and a small table on a corner of the porch.

However, Viney’s attention quickly shifted to the two emerald-haired teens leaning against a tree, four golden eyes examining her with visible excitement. Viney gave them a wave, walking over to the duo, when a blur suddenly pulled her into a hug and kissed her. Viney’s eyes widened in surprise but was quick to return it.

“That’s an interesting beast keeping technique, if I say so myself.”

The two girls pulled apart with a squeak, turning bright red. Emira looked up to her father, who had his arms crossed. For a second she expected him to scold her, but the man simply raised an eyebrow and gave her a teasing grin. Which probably felt even worse.

“Please, refrain from setting anything on fire. If you need me, I’ll be in my studio.”

The twins gave him the usual “yes father” and he retreated back inside the Manor. The man lingered for a few minutes on a window, watching the four teens. Edric summoned Mitts with a whistle, although it took him three tries, and showed it to Viney.

Alador saw Viney carefully looking at the fairy dragon and saying something. The two kept going back and forth with explanations and questions, and Alador couldn’t help but smile at Edric’s eager look and Emira’s lovestruck gaze. They almost looked like normal teenagers.

He grimaced in guilt. Sixteen years. It had taken him sixteen years and losing a child to finally attempt to be an actual father to his own children. Alador sighed, heading towards his studio. He opened the door of the room, and looked inside.

A small pile of papers was sitting on his desk, waiting to be signed. He walked over and looked at them. Barely a week prior, he would have sat down and buried himself in it, distance himself from the rest of the work. And yet, the prospect of doing so now felt ridiculous.

The man shook his head. So much had changed in so little time, it was almost unbelievable. A part of him detested it, wanted to go back to how things had always been, and yet, he knew things were changing for the better. Even if it had taken his own daughter to run away from him and almost passing out in a tavern on the outskirts of Bonesborough.

He shook his head, dismissing those thoughts, and sat down on his desk. The minutes soon started to fly, quill swiftly flying through the papers in a mechanized motion he had long learned, singing paper after paper. It had gotten to a point where he barely bothered to read them, a quick glance gave him enough information about their nature.

He stopped about three fourths of the way in, realizing he heard some commotion outside. He let out a sigh, hoping, no, _praying_ the twins hadn’t set anything on fire. He opened the doors of his studio, then a voice echoed through the halls that made his blood freeze.

“Alador! Come over here, quick!” Odalia. When had she arrived? She wasn’t supposed to get home until dusk, that was the whole reason he had allowed Edric and Emira to invite Viney over.

He rushed over to the porch, crossing the halls fast as lightning until he finally got there. Odalia was waiting for him, arms crossed and a stern look on her face. Edric, Emira and Viney were standing against the wall, completely stiff. The beast keeper looked utterly terrified.

“I am released early from my duty as head of the Coven, and what do I come home to? A peasant trespassing our property and teaching our children lowly magic!” The twins averted their gazes in shame, Viney just shot Alador a brief look. “I am appalled. Both of you were such good children, how could you… Do this?!”

Odalia then turned to Viney, who all but shrunk under her gaze. “And you. How do you even DARE set a foot anywhere near my children? Or my property?! How did you even get here?!”

Viney tried to speak, but nothing came out. She was so horrified she couldn’t even find her voice.

“I invited her.”

All eyes turned to Alador. The man stood firm, hands behind his back and staring defiantly against Odalia. The woman’s eyes were open wide in surprise. “What?”

“Viney is tutoring Edric on beast keeping magic. His talents on it are undeniable, and I find it a waste of potential not to train him.”

Odalia’s eye twitched in rage, but Alador spoke up before she could say another word. “Odalia, please don’t make a scene in front of the children. If you want to talk to me, do so in private.”

* * *

“You _invited_ that commoner?!” Odalia yelled,quite possibly losing her cool in front of her husband for the first time in their marriage. Alador simply raised an eyebrow, willing himself not to flinch. “Why on the Titan’s name would you do that?!”

“She is a friend of the twins. What they do with their lives is none of my business. They are sixteen, they’re old enough to make their own decisions.”

Odalia brought her hand to her forehead. “You cannot be serious. Do you realize how this will affect their social upstanding? Our family name?! We will be the laughing stock of every family with an ounce of influence.”

Alador frowned. “May I remind you what forcing societal expectations did with Amity?”

Odalia shot him a glare. “How dare you mention Amity’s name?! After everything I did for her!”

Alador raised his eyebrows in surprise. “After everything _you_ did for her?!”

“Of course! I made sure she got the best education, connected her to the most important families of the Isles! I raised her into being a proper lady, fit for her world!”

“Then how come she ran away, Odalia?!”

“Because Hexside allowed a rampant criminal in their ranks and she managed to corrupt our daughter! I do not know yet how, perhaps some awful manipulation or a spell...”

“Are you hearing yourself?!” Alador finally roared, throwing his arms up in the air. Odalia took a step back, taken aback by her usually calm husband’s outburst. “The only ones manipulating her were us! She had to hide herself out of fear, and the second someone gave her an alternative she ran!”

Odalia frowned again, raising a finger to Alador. “And what do you know?! You barely even interact with our children in the first place!”

“Because that’s what I did when I was forced to marry you!”

The two fell in silence for a few seconds, Alador was the one to finally speak up. “The twins are my children just as much as they are yours. Threaten my position in the Abominations Coven, I care not.” The man turned to the door of the room and opened it. “You were right about one thing, _dear_. I need to step up as a father, because clearly, I’ve failed one of my children. I hope you reconsider your actions.”

And with that, Alador closed the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit late but oh well, studying and hit a bit of a writing block in the way. Hope you guys like it! As always, leave a kudo and a comment, I really appreciate them!


	16. Thin Ice

Lilith was the one to pick Luz and Amity up from Hexside when they finished classes, Eda staying behind at the Owl House to prepare lunch. Lilith had argued Eda should  _ not _ be in charge of food but the Owl Lady insisted. However, the thing that truly made her accept was the shouting match between King and Hooty. That and the fact that she was truly growing fond of the girls, especially Amity, but she wouldn’t admit that. Not yet.

“So, girls, how were classes today?” She asked, finally breaking the silence. She felt the sound of the duo slightly shifting their weight in her staff.

“It was fine. I showed Mr. Gyps my progress on wordless command and he told me it was really impressive and that I’d get a higher grade for that.”

Lilith briefly looked back at the girl, shooting her a warm smile. The witchling’s golden eyes shone with happiness, something the Clawthorne had never seen during their training sessions, back when Amity had been her protégéé. “What about you, Luz?”

“Oh mine was great!” The human girl said. “Potions can get super boring, sometimes it feels like I’m back at home studying for Chemistry, but I managed to figure out simple illusion glyphs!”

“Oh? Is that so? That’s wonderful Luz! Perhaps you could show me later on?”

“Sure! Honestly Gus was a huge help, little guy didn’t give up until I found the glyph in one of his illusions.” The girl seemed to hesitate for a second before continuing. “How is Azura?”

Lilith sighed, shaking her head a bit. “It’s a bit early to tell. Edalyn has set up her enclosure in the front yard, so we can keep an eye on her. When I left she seemed to be able to stand up again, which is good.”

Lilith felt the human girl relax ever so slightly behind her and let out a pleased smile. The Owl House soon came into view. The ivory staff started to slow down, dipping its tip downwards, aimed to the ground. Mist then gently hovered over the dirt, letting the trio down.

Lilith grabbed the Palisman, seeing Luz rushing over to Azura’s enclosure, Amity hot on her heels. The woman smiled at the two teens’ antics, seeing them all but lunge at Azura. The animal seemed remarkably happy herself, loudly doing a purr-like sound and nuzzling the girls.

After a few minutes both teens walked into the Owl House, followed by Lilith. Luz rushed to the kitchen to greet Eda, eliciting a chuckle from Amity. Lunch was pure chaos as always, Eda and Lilith bickering loudly while King all but massacred his meal. Amity had grown used to it and simply ignored it, focusing on her lunch and the human sitting besides her.

After lunch Luz went upstairs for homework, while Amity stayed behind to talk to Eda about something. Lilith shrugged, retreating back to her room. She sat down on her bed, grabbing a book she had been reading the previous days.

A couple of hours probably sped by, the Clawthorne too enthralled in her reading to notice, when her scroll pinged. Lilith frowned, fishing it out of her pocket. She read the notification. Alador Blight

_ I know it seems sudden, but I’d like to talk. Place you suggested. _

Lilith had had his contact for years now, she had always prefered having her fellow Coven leaders’ numbers for quick updates and giving new orders over crystal balls or hand mirrors. The day after finding Alador at the tavern she had sent him a message, offering her help. She still had very mixed feelings about the man, but she knew what he was going through, and she knew he’d need all the help he could get if he didn’t want to slip.

_ Sure, see you there. _

The woman quickly put her scroll back on her pocket. She had to admit, she missed the practicality of summoning and desummoning her scroll, but that was obviously not an option anymore. 

She moved to get her cloak, but stopped. Sure, she was wanted, but Belos’ poster featured her in her previous look. Now her hair was back to her original floof, and her orange roots had already advanced halfway through her hair. Not to mention her black dress was gone too, choosing a much comfortable outfit of boots and a green dress not unlike Eda’s. She’d probably go unnoticed.

The witch got out of her room, heading downstairs. When she got to the living room, she found Luz and King bickering with each other over some human card game. The human girl perked up, looking at Lilith. “Are you leaving?”

“Indeed, I need to run some errands. Tell Edalyn if you see her, please.”

Luz nodded before looking back at her cards, focusing back on the game. Lilith shot her a grateful smile before stepping outside, hopping onto her staff and flying off. Mist’s ivory wings flapped sharply, cutting through the air at high speed. Both witch and palisman knew their destination.

Finally, it came into view. A large mansion, although not as big as the Blight’s, surrounded by an equally large state. The Fongerhorn state. Mist safely landed her on the grass surrounding the mansion. It had been abandoned after the death of Alador’s parents, their son no longer needing it. No one really visited it anymore. Which made it a perfect meeting spot.

Lilith made her way to a pond in the state, a large willow lazily hanging over the water. Under the tree rested a bench. And sitting on it, Alador Blight. The man’s golden eyes quickly turned to her. However, their usual apathy was gone, now a swirl of emotions raged in them. Anger, fear, excitement… It was hard to read.

“My apologies for requesting a meeting so suddenly.”

Lilith shook her head. “Nonsense. I understand your turmoil, believe me. May I?” She asked, looking at the bench. Alador quickly moved to the side of the bench, allowing Lilith to sit on the other side of it. The two sat there in an awkward silence before Alador sighed.

“I’ve… I’ve been trying to fix my relationship with the twins. Somewhat. I’ve allowed Emira to date this dual track girl, Viney, and she in turn agreed to tutor Edric on beast keeping. I thought… I thought I could keep it hidden from Odalia.” The man leaned back, looking at the Willow leaves above them. “I was a fool.”

Lilith frowned. “What happened?”

Alador pinched the bridge of his nose. “I… Allowed Edric to invite Viney for a training session. Odalia was working at the Emperor’s Coven, so I… I supposed she’d be working until nightfall.” He shook his head. “Serious mistake. She was released early.”

Lilith winced. “Did she…”

“Discover everything? Indeed.”

“And… What did you do?”

“Odalia demanded to know what Viney was doing in our state. I just… I couldn’t let her get away with this. Not anymore. I told her it had been my doing. Then we went to our room and I… I snapped.”

Lilith simply nodded, looking at Alador. “How… How did she react?”

“She… She blamed me. She has deluded herself into thinking what she does to our children is genuinely good for them. My entire life I thought she was just worried for the family name…” Another bitter chuckle. “She actually thinks she’s doing them a favor.”

Alador looked at Lilith, golden eyes visibly tired looking straight into worried turquoise. “I am at a genuine loss, Lilith. She holds enough political power to blackmail me and my entire coven. But I cannot allow the Amity situation to happen again. I simply can’t. I’ve been a failure for too long.”

Lilith leaned forward, resting her arms on her legs. “It seems to me your marriage is at a breaking point, Alador. You have to make a choice.”

“I suppose you’re right, but I am not sure if I’ll be able to do what I have to do.”

Lilith shot him a sympathetic look. “I know for the last decades we drifted apart, Alador. But I know Lord Calamity’s Paladin is still there.”

A nostalgic smile grew on the man’s face, fondly shaking his head. “We really made one hell of a team, Edalyn and I, didn’t we.”

Lilith chuckled. “Did you know she had to clean all of the pranks a couple of months ago?”

“You’re mocking me aren’t you?” Alador said, eyes open wide in surprise. Lilith shook her head.

“She did. All so Bump would allow the human to attend to Hexside.”

“She’s really grown fond of that human, hasn’t she?” Alador said, leaning back against the bench’s back.

“You cannot even imagine it. She won’t admit it, but Luz… She’s like a daughter to her.” Lilith’s face grew somber,  _ that _ day flashing by. The guilt would never go away, she knew it. 

“Well I’ll be damned, Edalyn Clawthorne a responsible parental figure? I thought the Titan would rise back from the dead before that happened.” Alador snarked.

Lilith chuckled. “Oh believe me, she may be a parental figure but responsible she is not.”

The two laughed at the comment. After that the afternoon flew by, the pair reminiscing their days at Hexside . Lilith left first, flying off to the Owl House, leaving Alador by himself. The man outstretched his hand, summoning his staff.

Ophidion shot him a worried look, sensing his master’s distress. Alador simply tapped his snout, eliciting and annoyed tongue flicker from the snake.

“Worry not, I’m fine. I just… I need to think.”

The Palisman stared at Alador for a few seconds before resting his head back on top of the staff, becoming a wooden figure once more. Alador climbed on the staff, and it quickly took off. As he made his way back to Blight manor, a phrase kept resonating in his mind.

_ You have to make a choice. _

* * *

Odalia Blight clenched her shaky fist, staring at the notes and papers before her. Every single bit of information Tyto had compiled over the previous weeks laid on her studio’s desk, but she was unable to focus. Her conversation with her husband was still fresh in her mind.

How dared he? Allowing her children to mingle with a peasant and such unruly magical arts. It was sickening. It made her blood boil. And not only that, he had dared to suggest Amity’s unruly behavior was  _ her fault _ .

He had known it since her parents first mentioned their arranged marriage. Alador was a weakling, he came from a minor noble family that had managed to accumulate riches through trade and abomination magic and her parents had seen the opportunity of seizing those commercial assets through a wedding.

And really, things had gone well at first. Sure, Alador had been rather reluctant and rebellious at first, but he soon learned to behave. She had managed to mold him into a model husband, someone she even came to respect. She thought he  _ understood _ .

But obviously not. It was foolishness to believe so, apparently. That model husband was nothing but a façade. A lie. He would allow their children to indulge themselves in such deplorable acts.

Her children… Titan, where had everything gone so wrong? Not only were the twins confiding with worthless commoners, but Amity…

The woman flopped on her chair, resting her forehead on her right hand. Her sweet, sweet Amity. She had always been the best of the three by a long shot. After her 7th birthday, she had truly become a Blight, one excellent little woman with a bright future ahead of her.

And suddenly, she had become a criminal, living with those wretched Clawthrones and their human. Odalia let out a shaky sigh. How? How could this have happened? After everything Odalia had done for Amity.

She had given her the best education the Isles could offer, she made sure every single one of Amity’s relationships were with the most powerful people of the Isles. The Emperor himself had known about Amity’s impeccable abilities and had promised her a spot in his coven.

Odalia’s fist shook with rage. The Clawthornes. It was their fault. She didn’t know why, she didn’t know how, but they must have had put some kind of spell or curse on Amity. At the very least manipulated her.

Yes that had to be it, she just knew it. Those two had taken her poor child and corrupted her into a filthy criminal, and the human had no doubt played a part in everything. She must have seduced Amity somehow, made her an easy prey for the Owl Lady.

The woman leaned forward, inspecting Tyto’s notes. A grin slowly made its way to her face. The human was going to drag her daughter to the human realm in a week, presumably something to do with its mother. If she obtained the key of the portal then, she’d both fulfill her mission and rescue her daughter.

She fished her pocket mirror from her pocket, swiftly opening it. The image of Kikimora soon appeared.

“Yes, Odalia?”

“Inform the Emperor, I will strike the Owl House in a week. I assure the key to the human realm will be ours.”

“Will you be needing a strike force to accompany you?”

“It is not needed, Kikimora. Previous assaults have shown the ineptitude of our members, they would only get in my way.”

Kiki simply nodded. “Understood. The Emperor shall be notified. Do not fail, Odalia.”

The Blight simply smirked, a faint deep purple mist around her. “Failure is not a possibility.”

Kikimora simply narrowed her eyes, carefully inspecting Odalia. Then she shrugged. “Whatever you say. If that is all, I must return to my work.”

Odalia nodded, closing the mirror. Yes, this was it, she would save Amity. She’d bring her back, whatever the cost. But first, there was something else she had to take care of. She came out of her studio, heading upstairs, to the bedrooms.

She knew the twins would be in Emira’s room. The woman walked up to the room, which had its door closed, and swiftly opened it. As soon as she did she saw both twins jump in surprise from their bed, eyes going wide and paling at their mother’s sight. Good, they knew they were guilty.

“Children, I think it is time we had a talk.” She said, looking down at the teens. The woman crossed her arms, frowning. “I am extremely disappointed in you two. I hope you realize how seriously your actions could impact your reputation.”

“Mother, I-” Emira tried to say. Odalia cut her off, raising her hand.

“Mother nothing. I thought I had taught you well, but it is obvious I was being too lenient. It is shameful that you’d even think about befriending someone as lowly as that witchling, let alone act on it. I expected more of you two.”

Her gaze turned to Edric. “Especially you, Edric. Learning beast keeping, I thought I had made myself clear when you suggested such foolishness as a child. And not only that, you’ve dragged Emira into this. It is simply unbelievable. Your punishment should be so severe I cannot even conceive one right now.”

“This isn’t Edric’s fault.” All attention shifted to Emira, fists clenched on her sides. Her gaze showed determination, but her shaky hand betrayed her true feelings. Odalia raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Is that so?”

Emira nodded. “I was the one to meet Viney first and introduce her to Edric.”

Odalia scoffed. “I cannot believe it. Emira, I thought you were above such friendships. But it doesn’t matter. You’re to cut ties with that commoner instantly, this foolish teenage rebellion ends now.”

“No.”

Odalia’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

“I- I’m not letting Viney go.”

The adult leaned forward, eyes narrowing in anger. “You.  _ Are. _ ” Odalia’s tone was cold. Demanding. She would not cave in. It didn’t matter.

“I am not! Father has already told me I’m free to hang out with whoever I want.”

“What your father says does not matter. I am your mother, and I’m telling you as a last warning. Sever ties with her.” Odalia ordered, voice coming out almost like a growl. Silver eyes met gold, and for a few seconds mother and daughter remained in silence. Then, Odalia spoke again. “Why, may I ask, do you care so much about that peasant.”

“Because I’m dating her, okay?!” 

Both Edric and Odalia stepped back at her outburst, horror clearly visible in both witches’ faces, albeit for much different reasons.

“You’re what?!” Odalia was outraged. She was  _ fuming _ . How dared she? How could her own daughter do something like that?!

Before any of the twins could process what was going to happen, Odalia’s hand was already raised in the air, ready to strike.

“I’ll tell father.”

Odalia stopped dead on her tracks. Emira had closed her eyes, bracing for an impact that never came. The older witch looked at Edric, who was staring right back.

“I-If you hit her I’ll- I’ll tell father.”

The woman frowned. If Alador knew, he could make it public. He would have done it previously, and now that he was starting to act so… Confrontational, that left Odalia no doubt. He would make it public. Her reputation would be completely tarnished by that.

Odalia scoffed, bringing her hand back down. She gave the twins a glare, but to her annoyance Emira didn’t back down. “Very well, play your foolish games. I am warning you however, this will have its consequences.”

* * *

Amity saw Luz, Lilith and King leave the kitchen, leaving Eda behind to do the dishes. The witchling walked over to the sink, her plate in hand. She then, to Eda’s surprise, started washing her own dishes. The Owl Lady snorted.

“Don’t worry kid, I got this covered.” Eda then spun her finger, drawing a spell circle. The plates and glasses floated over to the faucet’s water and started cleaning themselves. 

Amity shook her head. “I wanna help.”

Eda raised an eyebrow, magicking Amity’s dishes with the rest and put her hands on her hips. “You can talk to me if ya want, y’know.”

Amity sheepishly averted her gaze, rubbing the back of her neck. Eda rolled her eyes, guiding Amity to the back yard. There, she summoned a pair of chairs and sat down on one, summoning a mug of apple juice. Amity shyly sat down on her chair soon after.

“What’s in your mind, kid?”

Amity sighed, playing around with her fingers. “It’s… It’s about Luz.” Eda raised an eyebrow. “Last night we had agreed to go to the human realm next week so she could come clean about… Well.” Amity said, gesturing around her.

Eda frowned. “Kid, it’s okay, you can use the portal whenever you want.”

Amity shot her a timid smile. “Yeah, we guessed. It’s… It’s not about that though.”

A sly grin slowly grew on Eda’s face. “Oh, little Blight is scared of her lil’ girlfriend not coming back?”

Amity blushed, eyes going wide in surprise and arms flailing wildly. “N-No! It’s not that! Well, kinda... But that’s not the point!” Amity took a deep breath, composing herself again. “Last night’s attack… It really gnawed at her. At school she seemed… Lost.” The girl lifted her gaze, meeting Eda’s eyes. “I’ve never seen her so worried since… You know.”

Eda’s lips curled downwards, looking at her apple blood. “Can’t blame her. Kid loves that cockatrice.”

Amity shook her head. “It’s not just that. The portal is her only way to travel between realms. She’s worried about Belos getting his hands on it.”

Eda clicked her tongue. “I’ve thought about it too.” She stuck her hand on her silver mane, extracting the portal key. “I dunno what that bonehead wants this for, but it can’t be good. Normally I would’ve just destroyed it but I can’t do that to Luz.”

Eda lifted her gaze, looking at Amity. The Clawthorne gave her a warm smile. “But dontcha worry, I’m not letting any of those goons get close to it.” Eda put the key back on her mane with a grin. “I’d like to see them get through Hooty. And through me.”

“Thank you.”

Eda shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, not letting that bonehead get close to any of you. By the way, did you say you were going with Luz?”

Amity tilted her head with a frown. “Yeah, why?”

Eda shrugged with a shit eating grin that instantly sent every alarm in Amity’s mind off. “Just sayin’ seems pretty soon to meet your girl’s mom, isn’t it?”

“Well I’ve already met you so…”

Eda’s eyes went wide at Amity’s retort, then snorted. “Well I’ll be damned, you sure are learning the rules of this place quickly, huh?”

Amity shrugged, although a blush was still visible in her face. “I’m a quick learner.”

Eda gave her a grin, taking a sip from her apple blood. That smug grin, those golden eyes… That auburn hair… She was just like her father at her age.

“Is something wrong?"

Eda sighed, shaking her head. “It’s nothing. It’s just… You’re starting to remind you of your old man. Before he, y’know.”

Amity seemed to grimace with a rather deep sigh. Eda cringed at the gesture, great idea comparing her to one of her parents who she ran away from. “Sorry about that kid, not a smart thing to say.”

Amity shook her head. “It’s fine…” The girl frowned, as if debating if she should speak up. She finally spoke up. “I’ve… I’ve been thinking about what you told me last monday. About how my father used to be. And… And how he was around us...”

Eda leaned forwards, giving Amity a concerned look. “Remember how I say my father was better than my mother?” Amity asked. Eda nodded.

“Yeah, although I’d wager that’s a stupidly low bar.”

Amity sighed. “Thing is… I always wondered why he seemed to be so… Cold. So devoid of emotion. I used to think he just didn’t care about us, why would he? He spent his days buried with work, like it was the only important thing in his life. But.. After what you told me, I think something clicked.”

The girl looked at Eda right in the eye, conviction clear in her face. “I think… I think my father is still the person you knew, deep down.”

Eda frowned. “What makes you think that?”

Amity took a deep breath. “Because… After I was forced to cut ties with Willow I… I made up this distant, snobby persona for myself…” A fond smile grew on Amity’s face. “Luz was the only one who saw through it.”

A small pang of guilt grew on Eda’s stomach. “So what you’re saying is, your pops might be faking this whole snob thing?”

Amity nodded. “Or at least he was at some point. I know at times I took things too far with Willow… Maybe he ended up convincing himself.”

The pang of guilt on the Owl Lady’s stomach grew stronger, a storm of mixed feelings storming through her mind. Alador had betrayed her and Lily, he had pushed them aside because of his parents…

But at the same time her reaction had been to push him aside, leaving him with no one to rely on but himself against those rotten snobs of the high society. The realization hit her like a cart. Oh she had messed up big time, and now her Paladin could truly be gone. Forever.

“Eda?”

Amity’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. The Owl Lady looked at the girl, worry clear in her face. Dang she really had spaced out, hadn’t she. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. You just… You gave me some stuff to think about.”

Amity nodded, although she didn’t seem that convinced. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, then Amity’s scroll dinged with a notification. She frowned, summoning her device, then her eyebrows shot so high Eda thought they were about to merge with her hairline for a second there.

“Kid? Something wrong?”

“I-It’s from the Edric.” Amity lifted her gaze from the device, looking at Eda. “He says our parents got into an argument” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God coming up with chapter titles is not my forte. As always, leave a kudo and a comment if you liked this chapter!


	17. Cracks and Uncertainty

When Lilith landed in front of the Owl House the sun had already set. She cringed internally, knowing she had probably missed dinner and that Eda would have been worried about her falling back on drinking.

The witch hopped off her staff, only for Hooty to stretch all the way towards her. “Ooooh, you’re back! Man you must have had an interesting day! Oh, I could tell you about MY day! It’s been suuuuper interesting too!”

Lilith sighed, gripping her staff as to not strangle the owl tube right there and then. “Not now Hooty, it’s been a long day and I wish to rest.”

The house demon frowned. “Sheesh, I see when I’m not wanted. Hoot.” He said as he retreated back to the door. Lilith opened it, rolling her eyes, and stepped inside. Once in she saw Eda sitting on the couch, looking at her with a frown.

“Was starting to think you weren’t gonna show up.”

Lilith winced. “Edalyn, I…”

“Please, tell me you weren’t at that tavern.” Eda said.  _ Pleaded _ , those golden eyes staring deep into Lilith’s soul. Lilith shook her head.

“No, I wasn’t. You do not need to worry.” She said, walking over to the couch and sitting next to her younger sister. Eda gave her a light snort.

“Just looking out for ya. When you came back home so absolutely wasted, reeking of alcohol… I really worried for you, Lily.”

Lilith’s shoulders slumped, sadness visible in her face. “I… I really struggled with… Everything for that first week. Nightmares wouldn’t cease to haunt me, and what I did to you… It just ate at me.”

Eda suddenly pulled her into a side hug, eliciting a yelp from the older Clawthorne. “Listen, what you did was terrible, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. But you made up for it, sis. You cured me, sacrificing your own magic and your previous life for that. Don’t beat yourself over it, ‘kay?”

Lilith looked at her sister through the corner of her eye and gave her a weak smile. “Thank you. I assume the girls are asleep?”

Eda grinned. “They better be, sent those two to bed like an hour ago. Plus King too, but he just wanted to sleep all cuddled up with Luz. Not like he’ll ever admit it.” Eda fondly shook her head. “Man, look at us, taking care of two kids. Who would’ve thought, huh?”

Lilith huffed. “Indeed. Never would I have thought you’d be able to keep a houseplant alive, let alone a child.”

Eda leaned back with an exaggerated gasp. “Hey! I’ll let you know I have a really good green thumb!”

“Pfft, yeah. That’s why you somehow managed to end up with a withered  _ cactus _ .”

“Oh please, that was decades ago!” Eda said, crossing her arms. The two stayed in silence for a few seconds before breaking into a chuckle.

“Man, I’ve missed this.” Eda admitted, shaking her head with a smile.

“Me too…”

Eda’s eyes seemed to light up, as if remembering something. “Oh right, almost forgot to tell you! Got some juicy info from baby Blight…”

Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Please do tell.”

“Well, apparently there’s some trouble in paradise for the Blights! The twins sent her a message saying Alador and Odalia got into this huge argument and man, that must have been a sight to behold! If only I could… Lily?”

“Hm?”

“You… Don’t look surprised.”

Lilith sighed. “I… Had avoided telling you this but… I suppose you have the right to know.” Lilith shifted in her seat, facing her sister. “The night after Amity became a permanent resident… I went to the Cat’s Paw. I found Alador there.”

Eda frowned. “Al? In an outskirts tavern? What in the Titan’s name was he doing there?”

“Drinking his demons away.” Lilith sighed, fidgeting around with her fingers. “He… He’s been forced to do things by Odalia. Things he truly regrets. When Amity left, that was his breaking point. All those years of guilt and neglect must have come crashing down on him. I… I empathized with him.”

Eda frowned, leaning forwards. Her golden eyes were staring straight into her ‘30 and flirty’ mug lying on the table. “What do you mean… By forced to do things?”

“Odalia made him chastise Amity for befriending Willow and threatened to bar the girl from Hexside if he didn’t do it.”

Eda’s eyes widened in surprise and she choked on air. “What?!” She yelled. Lilith hissed, bringing her index finger to her lips. Eda winced. “Sorry, but still. Did she seriously…?”

Lilith nodded. “For what he told me, she made sure he’d be the one to threaten her and do most of the talking. After that he decided to completely distance himself from his children.”

“That bitch.” Eda spat out with a growl. “I swear to the Titan if we cross paths…” The youngest Clawthorne frowned, looking at Lilith. “I’m guessing today you saw Alador then.”

“Indeed.”

“What happened then? Amity didn’t mention anything other than an argument happening.”

Lilith sighed. “Apparently, Alador has been actually trying to improve since our conversation. He has allowed Emira to date a multi-tracking girl, who in turn started tutoring Edric on Beast Keeping. Today Odalia found out and he stood up against her.”

Eda sat in silence for a bit, taking in the news. Amity was right, after all. The Alador they used to know was still there. “...Wow. That’s… Damn.”

Lilith chuckled with a nod. “Indeed.”

The two fell silent again before Eda let out a yawn. “Ah well, it’s gettin’ late. Should probably hit the crib. There are some leftovers in the kitchen, serve yourself, sis.”

The Owl Lady then headed upstairs, towards her room. She paused on the way, seeing the door of the girls’ room ajar. He slowly decided to peek in, and she couldn’t help the fond smile that crept into her face.

Luz had at some point rolled over still inside her sleeping bag and ended up on Amity’s bed. The witchling must have felt the human’s presence in her sleep, and was now fiercely hugging the human like she was a giant teddy bear. And Luz was hugging her back. To top it all off, King was curled up on Amity’s feet like a cat, gently snoring.

Eda looked at the trio for a few more seconds before stepping back, gently closing the door. If someone had told her this would be her life a few months prior, she probably would have laughed at them and then proceeded to steal all their valuables.

And yet, as she magically changed into her pajamas and climbed into her nest, she had to admit she wouldn’t change anything in the world for the strange little family she had formed.

* * *

“Alright kiddos, end of the line!” Eda declared, lowering Owlbert down to the path leading to Hexside. The two girls hopped off the staff, and Eda ruffled Luz’s hair. “Good luck in there, kid.”

Luz pouted, looking up at her mentor. “Hey, why just me?”

Eda raised an eyebrow, completely deadpan. “Oh please, your girl could literally spend an entire month at home and she’d still be best of her class.”

Amity sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, averting her gaze. The witchling let out a squeak when Luz suddenly pulled her into a side hug, nuzzling her. “You’re right, my girlfriend is the smartest witch in the Boiling Isles!”

Yep, that was it, Amity was going to die right in the spot. Her face would combust and melt off, it was the end for her. Eda let out a laugh. “Kid, you should give her some space before she explodes.”

Luz winced and let go of Amity with a faint blush, mumbling an apology. Eda laughed again. “Physical affection  _ and _ flirting are not good on ya, huh?”

Amity wanted to huff or to make a witty comeback, but the only thing that came out was a high pitched squeak that made Luz coo, which in turn caused Amity to blush  _ again _ . Eda chuckled, shaking her head. “Ah well, I better get going. See ya later, lovebirds!”

Luz rolled her eyes and waved her mentor goodbye while Amity tried to will her blush down. After a few seconds she finally managed to calm down, and looked at Luz. The human girl gave her a sheepish smile.

“Sorry about earlier, I keep forgetting you still aren’t used to so much attention.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Luz Noceda, only you would apologize for complimenting your girlfriend.”

Luz chuckled, shrugging. “Guilty as charged, your honor!”

Amity shook her head with a fond smile before somehow gaining the courage to give Luz a peck in the cheek. The human girl froze for a few seconds in surprise. “Payback.” Was the only thing Amity said, a smug grin on her face. “Come on, we should get going if we want to catch the twins.”

Luz nodded, snapping out of her stupor. The duo went around the school to the grudgby field, where Luz wided Amity behind the stands. There, she opened a door leading to the Room of Shortcuts. She held the door open, stepping aside with an overly exaggerated flourish that made Amity chuckle, then entered behind her girlfriend.

They found the room completely empty, and so they decided to sit on the stairs and wait for the twins. The two stayed in silence for a bit before Luz spoke up. “So… What’d you think happened? I mean, besides what they told you.”

Amity shrugged, shaking her head. “Dunno. Em said father and mother got into an argument, but didn’t really say why. She said she wanted to tell me in person.”

Luz nodded, gently taking Amity’s hand and squeezing it. The witchling gave her a smile and squeezed back. Fortunately for the two, it didn’t take long before one of the countless doors opened, four golden eyes peeking in before seeing them.

Ed and Em walked in, Emira turning around and sticking her head back outside, probably thanking Viney. The twins jogged downstairs to where Amity and Luz were.

“Hey Mittens.” Ed said. Emira walked over to Ed’s side, looking at Luz. “Hey there cutie.”

Amity frowned at the nickname, sending her sister a glare. The older sister gave her a teasing grin.

“Okay guys, we’re tight on time sooo… Please, please can we focus?” Luz said, trying to defuse the situation before both sisters ended up in a fistfight. Emira’s grin fell, and she looked at her twin. Both twins exchanged a look and sighed.

“Father has been acting… Weird lately.” Emira said. Amity frowned.

“Weird how?” Amity asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Weird as in letting Emira date Viney and allowing me to keep a fairy dragon.”

Amity bolted up in surprise. “What?!”

Emira nodded. “Yep. We don’t know what took over him, but for some reason he’s decided to become a decent person now? Or at least he’s attempting to be one.”

“Thing is…” Ed said. “Father agreed to invite Viney over yesterday so she could teach me some beast keeping. Then mother showed up.”

“She started telling us off, y’know the drill.” Emira continued. “Then father came back from his studio and… Stood up for us? After that they went inside and we heard them yell at each other, but neither of us could tell what they were saying.”

The four fell silent for a while, both Luz and Amity taking in what the twins had said. Amity slowly sat back down next to Luz, taking the other girl’s hand. The witchling ran her hand through her hair, trying to collect her thoughts.

“I… Titan.” Was the only thing she managed to mutter out. The twins nodded. The duo shared a brief look. In just a couple of seconds, and totally non-verbally, they decided not to tell Amity of their… Confrontation with Odalia after their father had left the mansion.

“What do you think will happen now?” It was Luz the one to speak up this time. “Is your dad like, gonna get a divorce or something?”

The three Blights shared a look. “I… Doubt father would do that even if he wanted to. A divorce in a family like ours would be a huge scandal.” Amity said.

Emira nodded. “Yeah, plus our mother is crazy powerful, especially now that she’s head of the Emperor’s Coven. She could easily pull the strings and prevent father from doing anything.”

“Well that sucks.” Luz stated. The three Blights chuckled.

“That’s one way of putting it, yeah.” Emira admitted. Amity then shot a worried look at her siblings.

“Are you guys sure you’ll be okay?”

The twins shared a look, then gave Amity a soft smile in unison. In other circumstances Amity would’ve found their weird twin synchronization unsettling, but now? Now it felt nice.

“Even if we don’t know if we can fully trust father yet…” Ed started.

“We can see he’s at least  _ trying _ .” Em finished. She leaned down on Amity, ruffling her sister’s hair with a grin. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Amity gave them a shy smile. “You promise?”

The two twins nodded. “We promise.” They said in unison, before pulling Amity into a hug. The witchling yelped in surprise, but was quick to return it. For all the headaches the twins had caused her in the past, they were still her siblings. And she’d be damned if she didn’t love them.

“Hey Luz, come on don’t just stare! You’re pretty much family by now!” Edric said. The human girl quickly got up, latching herself onto all three Blights. Amity smiled, sinking into her siblings and her girlfriend’s embrace.

The future was uncertain, sure. And that was scary. But they’d pull through. She knew it.

* * *

Alador made his way towards the coven’s testing chambers. It had been two days since his argument with Odalia now, and fortunately she hadn’t cancelled their collaboration with the potions coven after their… Disagreement. 

The witches sent by the head of the potions coven had been extremely helpful, perfecting the new abomination goo’s formula in a matter of days. Even Alador had to admit he had been impressed. And now, it was time for the practical testing.

He opened the gates of the test chamber, a large hall similar to a lecture one, except the place of the professor’s desk was occupied by a large, circular platform. There were over a dozen witches in the room, and so he moved to sit on the highest seat. Next to him was the head of Abomination Research, Sappus Alabaster.

“Good evening, Mr. Blight.” The researcher said, scribbling something on his notes. Alador let out a small grin. This man had absolutely no regard towards social status. He liked that.

“Greeting, Sappus. Is everything ready to go?”

“Yes sir, we were waiting for you to arrive.”

Alador nodded. “Good. Shall we proceed, then?”

Sappus nodded, leaning into a built-in microphone. “Commence testing number 0143. Subject, cushion goo.”

A lizard person standing close to the platform nodded, drawing a purple spell circle. An abomination materialized on the platform, its goo an orange color instead of the more usual purple. A few seconds of silence.

“Subject appears to be stable. And… Desire to incorporate everything around it into its mass seems to have disappeared.” Sappus said, a hint of a shudder in that last part not lost to everyone in the room. That poor intern…

“Very well, proceed with simple spells. A fireball should suffice.”

The reptile nodded, drawing a small spell circle. A violet ball of flame hovered over their clawed hand before being hurled at the abomination. The few seconds it took for the fire to reach the summoning seemed to stretch forever for everyone in the room. Then, the fireball hit the abomination.

Except instead of scorching the goo, the fire was completely absorbed, down to its magical energy. In turn, the abomination’s eyes glowed purple for a brief second before going back to normal.

A beat. Then the room erupted into cheers, several witches and demons hugging and patting each other in the back. The lizard person let out a breath, seeing they didn’t share the fate of that poor intern.

Alador felt a tension he didn’t even know he had leave his body, feeling himself fall down on his chair with a relieved sigh. He looked at Sappus through the corner of his eye, a huge grin on the shorter witch’s face.

“Seems like the experiment was a success.” Alador said. Sappus eagerly nodded, scribbling down on his notes.

“We still need to conduct tests with more powerful spells but magical readings are promising.” The researcher lifted his gaze, looking at Alador. “I think we got it.”

The Blight gave him a lopsided smile, looking back at the abomination. “I know there’s still quite some research ahead of us but… I’d say this calls for a celebration, wouldn’t you agree, my dear doctor?”

A mischievous grin grew on Sappus’ face. “What are you thinking on, Blight?”

A few hours later, every single member of the research project had moved to one of the most luxurious and prestigious restaurants in the Boiling Isles. Usually they wouldn’t have accepted such a large group without a reservation, but the Blight family name was enough to make an exception. That was at least one benefit from his marriage, Alador supposed.

At first the dinner had felt formal, conversations held at a low tone. But now? Now there was yelling, laughter, a stench of alcohol and some demon was  _ singing a sea shanty _ . Alador was oh so glad their group was so big they had been given a private room because by the Titan what a scene.

Alador suddenly jumped on his seat, catching a Phoenix thigh just in time as if it were a grudgby ball and biting into it before falling back on his seat. Okay,  _ maybe _ his inhibitions were starting to fade too. 

Good old doctor Alabaster was sitting next to him, downing what must have been his sixth shot of Kynigos for the night. “Be careful, doctor, we still need you tomorrow.” Alador quipped. Any other witch would have mumbled an apology, but Sappus? Sappus, he honest to Titan  _ laughed _ .

“Oh please, trust me. I’ve had much, much worse.” Sappus chuckled. “Besides, I am physically incapable of getting drunk.”

Alador raised an eyebrow, amused. “Oh? Is that so?”

Alabaster nodded. “Indeed. I can thank the wife for that, she’s a potionist. One day she caught me in a tavern so she brewed a potion that nullified alcohol’s effects on my body.”

Alador snorted. “That’s quite the wife you got, huh?”

Sappus shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Wouldn’t change her for anyone though. She  _ was _ looking out for me, after all.”

Alador chuckled, looking down at his glass. The man held the container in his hands, gently swaying it to make the liquid move inside. He thought back to his marriage with Odalia. Had she ever even made an effort to look out for him? At all?

Probably not. Their marriage had been purely pragmatic, they just tolerated each other at best for the good of the family name. A family name that wasn’t even his.

“Problems in paradise?” Sappus’ voice snapped Alador out of his thoughts. The Blight frowned, shooting his head researcher a confused look. “I know that look, I’ve seen it more times than I’d like to admit.”

Alador sighed, downing a shot of his drink. “There can’t be problems in paradise when there’s no paradise at all.”

Sappus hissed. “Damn, that bad?”

Alador simply sighed and nodded. 

“Arranged marriage?”

“Indeed.”

The two were silent for a few seconds. “I know a good lawyer, if-”

Alador raised his hand, shaking his head. “You need not to worry, Sappus. This is not your battle. Besides, we are supposed to be celebrating, aren’t we?”

Sappus rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, sir. Do not think I’m forgetting about this conversation, though.”

Alador chuckled. “You truly are one of a kind, doctor.”

Sappus gave Alador a grin. “Just looking out for the boss.” He said, lifting yet another Kynigos shot and downing it with glee.

The Blight rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the phoenix wing he had caught mid-flight and bit into it with a shrug. He looked around, seeing his subordinates laugh and eat and drink. Moments like these made up for all the paperwork, moments when they made a breakthrough in magical understanding, where he remembered why he had applied to be head of the coven.

Surely, he could forget about everything. Just this one night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update! Hit some major writing block, and I'm in the midst of exam season :P. But! We got new Azura art by [Fang](https://twitter.com/Fang83768513)!  
> 
> 
> Also some of y'all have seen it already, but I started another Owl House fic! Just some shameless self-promotion lol [,it's a beta sibling AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28741386/chapters/70474122). 
> 
> As always, hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Leave a kudo and a comment if you did, and buckle up cause we're getting to the home stretch!


	18. The Human Realm

The time had flown by, and before Luz even knew it, the day to face her mother had come. She had woken up cuddled to Amity again, despite the fact that she was still inside her sleeping bag and must have rolled over while asleep. Eda had teased her about it, saying Amity must have had a magnet or something like that.

The human girl yawned, carefully reaching for her phone as to avoid awakening the sleeping witch. It was 8 AM. However, Luz’s eyes were quickly drawn away from the clock and to a notification right underneath, reminding her of what was going to happen.

She let out a long breath, feeling a lump forming on her throat. This was it, there was no turning back.

“Luz?” The girl heard someone mumbled besides her. She looked at Amity, finding the witchling’s tired golden eyes looking up at her. “Somethin’ wrong?”

“Today’s the day.”

“Oh…” Amity’s gaze lowered, taking Luz’s hand and squeezing it. “It’ll be okay, you’ll see.” The girl said, before reaching over and kissing Luz’s forehead. The human chuckled. 

“If she says no you could always do a fake kidnapping.”

Amity snorted. “That’d be Eda’s doing, not mine.”

The two girls stayed in silence for a few minutes, neither wanting to move. They both knew if anything went wrong that day, they would never see each other again. And it terrified them. So, they just laid there in silence, taking in every precious second together as if they were their last.

They didn’t dare to even try to get up until the door of their room opened, after what must have been an hour or two. Eda was standing on the doorway, giving the two girls a sly grin.

“Alright you two, enough sappy time, you oughta get dressed and have breakfast before everyone gets here.”

The two teens shared a look and sighed, Amity getting up from her bed and Luz wiggling out of her sleeping bag. Eda sighed, noticing the mood.

“Kids, I know you’re scared, but trust me. You got nothin’ to worry about, aight? Even if she says no, we’ll figure something out.” Eda assured, winking at the girls. The duo shared a look, then nodded at Eda. “I’ll be downstairs, breakfast is ready.”

The Clawthorne turned around, making her way down the hallway and to the staircase. She felt a knot forming in her chest, dread that had been building up for months coming to its peak. She got to the living room, tiredly plopping down on the couch.

The witch let out a shaky sigh, nervously playing with her mane. She was luckily saved from spiralling down in her worries and dread by her sister walking in, noticing Eda’s distraught state. She sighed, sitting down next to her older sister.

“Today is the day, isn’t it?”

Eda sourly nodded. “Yeah. Kid’s going back.” The youngest Clawthorne sniffed. “I knew this moment would come, but… Titan, I’ve just grown so attached to that little rascal.”

Lilith gave her a smile, gently putting her hand over her little sisters’. “It’s obvious you care for that girl. I haven’t seen you so happy in… Well, in decades, I think.”

Eda gave her sister a small smile. “She’s really wormed her way into my heart that kid, hasn’t she?”

Lilith chuckled. “I believe you aren’t the only one.” She then looked at her sister in the eye. “That girl loves you. I doubt there is any force on this realm or the other that would be able to keep her away from you.”

Eda grinned, lightly nudging her sister. “Speaking out of experience, aren’t we?”

“Perhaps.” The two sisters sat in silence for a few seconds, then Lilith cleared her throat, getting up. “I… I’m going to check on the girls, see if they have everything ready.” Lilith gave Eda a smile. “Don’t beat yourself up on this, alright? Everything will be fine.”

Eda sighed, nodding. She wanted to believe her sister, she really did. But there was a deep worry gnawing at her, thinking something terrible was going to happen and separate her from Luz forever.

Time passed, she wasn’t sure how much, too immersed in her thoughts. Then the worst sound to ever grace the Isles with its existence reached her ears. “Hoot! You must be Luz’s frieeends! She’s inside, but I can hang out with you until she comes! Hoot hoot!”

Eda quickly rushed to the door, slamming it open. “Alright Hooty, no need to traumatize these poor kids!” 

The group in front of her shot her a grateful look. There were four people: Willow, Gus and the Blight twins. 

“Yeesh, hoot, okay! I just wanted to chat!”

Eda rolled her eyes, stepping aside to let the kids in. “Come on in, he won’t be bothering you indoors. Isn’t that right, Hooty?!”

“Fine, hoot!”

Eda nodded inside, the small group of teenagers stepping in. “They’re having breakfast I think, they should be done any sec-”

A blur suddenly sped past Eda, latching onto the newcomers. Before any of them knew what had happened, Luz had already pulled them all into a group hug, already changed to her regular clothes and the bag she had brought from the human world on her. “-ond now…” Eda finished with a grin.

“Oh my gosh guys!” Luz practically squealed. “I’m so glad you made it!”

“Of course we did!” Willow said, quickly returning the girl’s hug. “We know you’re coming back but still…”

“Yeah, we’re your friends, aren’t we?” Gus said with his usual cheerful tone.

“Yeah plus you’re taking Mittens with you so we figured we should check up on you two.” Edric added, shooting Amity, who had just entered the room, a grin. Amity rolled her eyes with a scoff, Emira breaking out from the hug to ruffle Amity’s auburn hair.

“Aw c’mon Mittens, you know you love us.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Love is a strong word.” She said with a smirk.

“Ouch.” Edric said, feigning hurt. Amity chuckled, shaking her head.

Eda shook her head. “Alright kids, sorry to interrupt the moment but we gotta get moving, we got a schedule to keep up to.” The Owl Lady then dug into her silvery mane, fishing out her portal key. With a single click, the portal appeared.

Everyone in the room stood in silence for a few minutes, looking at the door. They knew this had to be done, but no one had the heart to say anything. To act.

That silence was swiftly broken when Hooty let out a terrified scream and slammed the door open, a familiar black snout peeking inside. Luz all but jumped at Azura, hugging her snout while the other teens gave her wary looks. Except for Amity, that is.

“Mommy is going away for a bit but don’t you worry, grandma Eda is gonna take good care of you!” Luz said with the most baby tone imaginable, nuzzling the one thousand pounds beast. Eda frowned at that last part.

“Is… Is that normal?” Willow asked, keeping an eye on the purring beast. Amity shrugged.

“Yeah. Unfortunately, it is.”

“Oh please, like you don’t go all mushy on that foul creature when you think no one is looking!” King’s accusing high pitched voice said, prompting Amity to redden slightly and shoot the demon a glare.

“Luz, it is time.” Lilith’s voice reminded her. Luz sighed, squeezing her head against Azura’s head. The cockatrice looked at her with those deep, violet eyes before cooing and lightly tapping the girl’s face with her snout.

Luz let out a chuckle before gently stroking Azura’s jaw and walking away, back towards the group. First she headed over to Willow and Gus, and the trio shared a small smile before pulling each other into a group hug.

“If I don’t come back, I just want you to know I’ll miss you guys so, so much.”

“Don’t say that. You’ll come back.” Willow assured her before breaking the hug. “I’m sure you will.”

Luz sniffed, nodding at her friend. She then looked at Gus who… Was too busy crying to really say anything. The girl put a hand on Gus’ shoulder and gave him a smile. “I’ll get something for you from home, ‘kay?”

Gus nodded with a smile, although that didn’t stop him from crying. Luz gave him a pat in the shoulder before turning to the twins. The duo eyed her for a few seconds before Ed ruffled her hair.

“You better take care of Mittens out there.”

“I will.”

“And don’t you dare propose without us present.” Teased Emira with a wink. Luz’s eyes widened and her face went completely red, blabbering some gibberish before quickly walking away from the twins, who were doubled over with laughter. Amity wasn’t any better than Luz at that moment.

“Anyways!” Luz managed to squeak out, moving on to the Clawthorne sisters. The girl looked at Eda at first, mentor and apprentice sharing a look that said everything and nothing at all at the same time.

The Luz latched onto Eda, tightly hugging the witch. Eda returned the embrace, resting her chin on the kid’s head with a smile. If the infamous Owl Lady sniffled a bit during that moment, no one dared to speak up.

The two hesitantly broke up their hug, Luz wiping tears away from her eyes before looking at Lilith. The witch seemed to shrink a little under Luz’s gaze. “Lilith… I- I know we… Didn’t have a good start.” Lilith winced, averting her gaze. “But… You’ve really changed. If… I’m not allowed to come back… I’ll miss you.”

Lilith seemed taken aback by the human’s words, but a small smile creeped on her face. “You will return, Luz. I am sure of it.”

Luz simply nodded at the witch before looking down. King had his arms crossed, looking away from her with a frown. The girl smiled, crouching so she could be on his eye level. “Aww, what’s wrong buddy? Sad I’m leaving?”

“Of course not! The King of Demons misses nobody! Leave already, I don’t care!”

Luz shot Eda a knowing look and turned to the portal. “Okay then! C’mon Ami, let’s go!”

But before she could take a single step forward she felt something latch onto her leg. She looked down with a smile, King fiercely clinging onto her leg. “Don’t leave me!”

Luz shook her head, scooping King up. “Whatever happened to not missing anybody?”

King scoff. “The King misses nobody! But… Perhaps I will make an exception for my second in command”

Luz cooed, cheerfully hugging King like a plushie. “I’ll miss you too boo-boo buddy.”

She then gently lowered King back on the floor before looking at Amity. The two shared a look and nodded, the witchling walking over and gently taking Luz’s hand. Both walked towards the portal, the human turning back to the others.

She gave them a shy smile and waved, feeling herself getting choked up. She took a deep breath, squeezing Amity’s hand.

“You ready?” Amity said.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Then they stepped into the light.

* * *

The two girls stepped out of the portal. The door soon closed behind them and disappeared, Eda had probably taken it back. Fortunately Amity’s scroll sent a magical signal strong enough to be sent back even with the portal closed, which meant she’d be able to send Eda a message when they were done.

Luz took a deep breath, taking in the familiar smell of late summer air. The two girls looked around, taking in the sight. The forest’s trees were still covered in a vibrant green cover of leaves, although some early bloomers were already showing the rogue amber or red leaf. 

“What’s that noise?” Amity asked, ear twitching ever so slightly. Luz tilted her head and paid attention, then shrugged.

“Sounds like a car, don’t worry about it.”

Amity let out an ‘ah’ while nodding. Luz had already explained the basics of the human world in preparation for that day, in case Amity tried to kill a car or something. To Amity’s surprise, the human world was surprisingly similar to the Isles, anything done with magic in her realm had a technological analogue on Earth.

Cars were, of course, an exception, and she was extremely grateful Luz had shown her what cars were because at a simply glance they heavily resembled some armored species of beasts back at home.

Her train of thought was swiftly interrupted, however, when the witchling felt Luz gently touching the back of her ear. She let out a surprised squeak, causing Luz to step back.

“Sorry! I just realized we… Kinda forgot about the ear illusion.”

Amity frowned, touching her ears. They were indeed rather pointy. “Oh.”

“But don’t worry! I was just placing some illusion glyphs.” The human girl got closer again, and Amity’s cheeks regained their pink dusting. “Just gotta tap them aaaand…” Luz tapped the glyph.

And then the paper fell apart, turned into ashes. “...And glyphs don’t work here… Great.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, Lilith and I thought this could happen.” The girl then spun her finger, a light blue spell circle forming. Her ears puffed in a blue smoke, and then her pointy ears were turned into human ones.

Amity smiled proudly, but it quickly fell when she saw Luz’s disappointed expression. “Did… Did I get it wrong? I’m not used to illusion magic, maybe-”

“Your regular ears were so cute…” The human girl pouted.

Amity choked on air, her face going red for a second. “Let’s… Let’s just get to your home.”

Luz gave her a cheeky grin, swiftly taking her girlfriend’s hand. The two walked out of the forest until they came face to face with the road. A car quickly sped by, and Amity couldn’t help but look at it in surprise.

“Woah…”

Luz raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“It was just… So fast.” The witchling said. “Only staves can get to that speed…”

The human chuckled. “You ain’t seen nothing! On highways they go like, twice as fast!” Amity shot her a surprised look and Luz shrugged. “Don’t ask me how they work tho, got no idea whatsoever. Not a science gal here! Could always look it up online I guess. But I’m rambling again...”

Amity fondly rolled her eyes, nudging Luz. “I love it when you do that.”

Luz gave Amity a sheepish smile, faint blush on her cheeks. She then looked to her left, and was greeted by the sight of her home. Her mom’s car was parked right in front of the winding path leading to the door. She was home.

She took Amity’s hand, and the witch gave it a comforting squeeze. A deep breath. She could do this. They could do this. The duo walked over to the house’s door, and Luz slowly lifted her fist, ready to knock.

And she just stood there, completely frozen in place. Amity gave her a concerned look. “Luz?”

The other girl just whimpered, staring at the wooden door. Come on, it was just seeing her mom! It shouldn’t be that hard. And yet, she just couldn’t will herself to knock on the door. “What if she freaks out?” Luz finally spoke. “What if she freaks out about magic and hates you and doesn’t let me see you guys ever again and-”

Her rambling was suddenly interrupted when Amity pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly. “She won’t.” Amity assured her. “It’s gonna be okay, you’ll see. And if she says no, I doubt Eda would care.”

Luz snickered, returning the hug. “Good point.”

The two stayed embraced for a couple more minutes before Luz finally let go, taking a deep breath. She looked at the door, took Amity’s hand again, and knocked. A deafening silence filled the air for what felt like an eternity for the two girls, then they heard some shuffling coming from inside the house.

Then the front door opened, Camila Noceda’s brown eyes meeting her daughter. The mother’s face had a mix of relief, disappointment and happiness on it.

“Mija? What are you doing here? Camp doesn’t end in a couple of weeks. Ay, dime que no te echaron, por favor…”

Luz quickly shook her head. “No! No, I…”

But before she could finish, she noticed her mother’s gaze moved towards Amity. And suddenly both became very aware of the fact that they were holding hands, quickly letting go. Camila simply raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see we had a guest!” The woman said to Amity, extending her hand. “I’m Luz’s mother, but I’m sure you already know.” She continued, giving Luz a brief but teasing side glance that made the poor girl blush like a tomato.

Amity hesitated for a second, not sure how to act. Some weeks prior she would have been absolutely terrified, but her stay with the Clawthornes must have had an effect on her, since she took Camila’s hand and shook it.

“It’s really nice to meet you, Ms. Noceda. I’m Amity Blight.”

Camila gave the girl a warm smile. “That’s a very unique name! And please, you can call me Camila.” The woman then walked back inside, waving her hand. “Venga, come in! I’m sure there’s a lot you want to tell me.”

The two teens shared a look and followed Camila inside the house. Amity was quick to observe that the house was a bit smaller than the Owl House, however it felt just as lived in. There were several photos hung on the walls of Camila and Luz through the years. Luz guided her towards the living room, where she found a couch facing towards what she guessed was the TV, as Luz had called it. Apparently it was similar to a crystal ball, save for making calls. Or summoning spirits and seeing the future.

The two sat down on the sofa, sharing a nervous glance while Camila went through the kitchen. “Are you ready?” Amity whispered.

“Not really” Luz replied with a shy smile.

“What are you two talking about?” Camila’s voice suddenly came from behind them, carrying what looked like three cups of tea with her. She put them on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat on an armchair to the side, facing the two girls.

“N-nothing! We were just… Uh…” Luz quickly sputtered, then she realized she was holding hands with Amity  _ again _ and felt a slight blush start to grow. Camila raised an eyebrow.

“Ay mija, we talked about this. I’m happy for you and I support you all the way, you don’t need to hide these kinds of things.”

Luz frowned for a second before her eyes widened, face turning bright crimson. She saw through the corner of her eye Amity was in the same position, if not much worse. Her entire  _ head  _ was a deep red.

Camila snorted, amused only like a parent embarrassing their teen child could. “So, aren’t you going to tell me more about the girl who stole your heart, mija?”

Yes, she was going to die. “I… I uh” Luz cleared her throat. “We… Met a couple of months ago.” Camila hummed, shit eating grin plastered in her face. “At first we… Didn’t really get along too much. I… Might have been too… Y’know.”

Camila sighed, knowing what she meant. “Mija…”

“It was my fault.” Amity suddenly said, drawing the attention of both Nocedas. “I was… Not the best person to your daughter, Ms. Noceda. Or to anyone...”

Camila frowned, but before she could ask anything Luz put a hand on the girl’s face. “It wasn’t your fault. Plus you’ve changed a lot since then! I mean, just ask Willow!” Luz quickly turned to her mother. “Willow is a friend of ours. She and Amity were friends when they were kids but…”

Luz shot Amity a look, asking her permission to explain. Amity simply nodded. “Amity’s parents… They forced her to stop hanging out with her, and made her make friends with kids they chose.”

Camila gasped, eyebrows practically becoming one with her hairline. “That’s horrible!” The woman then frowned, looking at Amity. “Cielo, is that why they sent you to that camp?” She then looked to her daughter, then to Amity again, and a new concern assaulted her mind.

Those parents sounded like the kind of people who would  _ not _ be happy about their daughter dating a girl. “Do they… Do they know about… This?”

The teens shared a look, and Amity sighed. “My father approved of me… datingyourdaughter”. She said, awkwardly speeding through that line with a blush. “My mother…”

Amity lowered her gaze, looking at her feet. Camila felt worry increase even more for the poor kid she had just met. “Amity. I know we just met, but if you need somewhere to stay you’re welcome here.”

Amity’s eyes widened in surprise. She was a complete stranger, hell she was  _ dating Camila’s daughter without her permission _ . Yet this woman had just offered her a place to stay, no questions asked whatsoever. She felt herself tear up.

“I… Thank Ms. Noceda, but I don’t-”

“Please, just Camila.” The woman said, giving Amity a warm, maternal smile that almost made the poor witchling break down in the spot. Instead, the girl opted to simply nod.

Camila nodded back, then back at Luz. “But let’s change the topic! Tell me mija, how was camp? I know you sent me some messages but I really wanna hear it from you. And also explain why you’re here early.” The woman said, adding a more serious tone to that last part.

Luz and Amity shared a glance again, then Luz sighed. “Mami, I… I haven’t been entirely honest with you.”

Camila frowned, visibly concerned. “What do you mean, mija?”

Luz sighed, absentmindedly taking Amity’s hand. “I… I never went to camp.” She nodded, and Amity drew a spell circle. Camila’s mouth dropped as she watched the girl’s finger create a circle of light in the air, followed by her ears being covered in a light blue smoke and turning pointy, slightly wiggling like a cat’s.

“When I was waiting for the bus, an owl stole my Azura book and... Well.” Luz took a deep breath. “Magic is real, and I’ve spent this whole summer learning how to be a witch. Eda isn’t a camp counselor like how I told you on my texts, she’s… She’s the witch that’s been mentoring me.” The girl lowered her gaze. “Perdóname.”

Amity gently rubbed Luz’s knuckles with her thumb, the human girl wincing at the deep silence the living room had fallen into. Camila simply stared at her, wide eyed. The woman slowly brought her hand to her forehead.

“Luz, yo…” A sigh. “This… This is a lot to take in.”  _ Lord have mercy on that fucking camp _ was what she was actually thinking. She noticed the way Luz was looking at her and winced. “I am not angry at you, mija. Okay? I am not.”

Luz lifted her head, looking at her mother. “You… You aren’t?”

Camila shook her head. “Of course not. I’m just glad you decided to tell me, mija.” 

“But… You sent me to camp precisely because… Well, all this stuff! Aren’t you… Angry about this?”

Camila winced, feeling a part of her shatter at that. She got up from the armchair, walking over to Luz, then sat down next to her. “Luz… I could never be angry about you.” The woman said, gently cupping Luz’s cheek with her hand. “I just… I wanted you to have friends. I didn’t even want to send you to that camp, Hal made me.”

Luz blinked. “R-really?”

“Really. It always pained me to see how you never fit in, I just wanted you to be able to find people…” Camila gently lifted her gaze at Amity, who was looking away. Her shaky shoulders betrayed the witchling. “But it looks like you already did.”

Luz lunged at her mother, wrapping her in a hug as a swirl of bottled emotions broke free. Camila was quick to accept her embrace, and she could hear Luz’s muffled sniffling against her shoulder. The nurse rubbed her daughter’s back in circles. She looked up at Amity, who gave her a shy smile. The witchling’s eyes were still wet, no doubt the scene had made her emotional.

After a few minutes, Luz seemed to have calmed down and broke the hug. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder. “Better?”

Luz just nodded, light hiccups still rearing their head. “How about you unpack your things and tell me all about this world of magic, eh?”

Luz’s demeanor suddenly changed, the girl beaming and quickly running upstairs, leaving Camila and Amity alone.

The adult looked at the witch. “So, Amity.” The girl almost jumped on her seat. Camila would have found that endearing, had she not been given that background about her parents. “You’re a witch then?”

Amity nodded. “Y-yes.” The girl gulped. “I understand if… If you find it weird or-”

“No, no, no! Jesus no.” Camila quickly reassured the witch. “Sure, it’s… Strange. I’ll admit I’m still in a bit of shock.” She said with a chuckle. “But I trust Luz. And you seem like a sweet girl.”

Amity blushed, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. “T-thanks Ms. Noc- Camila! Camila.”

“Amity… I know you have no reason to trust me. At all. But… What Luz said about your parents…”

Amity let out a sigh, looking down at her legs. “My family is one of the most important families in the Boiling Isles, the- the place where I come from. Since I was a kid my parents -my mother- always made sure I acted like a proper Blight. Straight As, and only associating with the best. I...” The girl seemed to hesitate.

“Hey.” Camila said, catching Amity’s attention. “You don’t have to tell me anything you aren’t comfortable with sharing.” 

Amity hitched. Never had either of her parents respected her boundaries. And with Eda and Lilith it had just kind of become an unspoken rule. To see an adult outright  _ telling her _ … She almost felt like crying.

“I... I’m fine.” Amity reassured the woman. Camila gave her a sympathetic look that made Amity feel all warm inside. Safe. “Anyways… I guess I just resigned myself to obeying my parents? I… I didn’t even dare to think about walking out of line. That is...” The witch’s eyes drifted to the stairs leading to the second floor, where Luz was. A slight blush crept up on her face. “Until I met your daughter. She… She’s really helped me. Helped all of us over there.”

Camila couldn’t help but let a proud smile grow on her face. It really seemed like her little light of joy had grown, despite not going to that camp. That camp she  _ really _ had to call and give a piece of her mind to.

“A few weeks ago I… I ran away from home and I’ve been living with Eda and Luz ever since.” Amity continued. The witch’s eyes then shot wide open. “I- I’m so sorry! I’ve talked for too long, I’m sure you must be thinking I’m being annoying and weak.”

Camila frowned. “No, of course not, cielo! If anything, you’re really brave. To grow up like that must have been terrible!”

Amity looked at her with all but stars on her eyes. “I…”

Before she could say anything else, however, the sound of a certain someone coming downstairs drew both Amity and Camila’s attention. Luz quickly walked down the stairs, skipping some of the steps before rushing to the couch and plopping down next to Amity.

Camila fondly shook her head. “So, mija, ready to tell me about what you have  _ actually _ been doing?”

Luz gleefully nodded, all but bouncing on her seat. And so, she launched into the epic retelling of her adventures on the Boiling Isles. She went over every single one of her adventures, talking about Gus, Willow, the detention track guys, Boscha and her group, the Blight twins... 

She purposefully left out some of the most… dangerous details, not wanting to worry her mother, or make her change her mind about the whole magic thing. Amity chimed in from time to time when she could, offering some other points of view.

Time flew by, and by the point Luz had finished and Camila had asked whatever questions she had, it was already past 7 in the afternoon. 

“I should probably head back.” Amity said, looking at the living room’s window. She then looked at Luz. 

The human girl shot her mother a fleeting look. “I think I’ll stay here. I’ve kinda missed my room, plus it’ll be nice to sleep in a bed.” She added with a shrug. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Amity nodded with a sheepish smile. “Of course.” She was just about to look at Camila and talk, but Luz suddenly gave her a peck in the cheek. Amity’s ears dropped and her face reddened.

“I- Uhm itwasnicetomeetyoumsnoceda!” She blurted out, quickly getting up from her seat. “I-I’ll see you tomorrow then, yeah! Bye!”

And so the witchling turned around, quickly storming off the house. She felt the voice of Luz and Camila behind her, but she really didn’t understand anything. The girl then closed the door behind her, taking a deep breath, then summoned her scroll.

She sent Eda a quick message to open the portal and made her way to the old shack. Everything had gone pretty well, all things considered. Luz was happy, her mother didn’t seem too freaked out about the whole ‘magical is real’ thing and she approved of her and Luz!

She had been more of a mom to her in a few hours than her own mother had been for fourteen years. She finally reached the old shack, portal door waiting for her. She opened the gate, carefully closing it behind her. She didn’t really look around her.

“Hello, Amity.”

The witchling’s blood froze. That voice… She turned around. She was in the forest, and sitting right in front of her…

Odalia Blight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a heavy chapter wasn't it! We're heading straight for the finish line, around two or three chapter left! What was Odalia doing with the portal? What happened to Eda? And where is Alador?! All that and more, coming up on next week's Emeralds and Sparrows!
> 
> Also Camila's Spanish dialogue is just "Tell me they didn't kick you out, please".


	19. Decisive Battle

The door of the portal closed after Amity and Luz walked through it, leaving everyone in the Owl House behind. The group simply stood in silence for a bit, taking in what had just happened. This was it. It was done, now they could only hope Luz’s mother wouldn’t keep her away from the Isles forever.

Eda’s golden eyes met Lilith’s aquamarine ones. No, not everything was done. The Clawthornes nodded at each other, then Eda looked at the teenagers in the room. “Alright everyone, the show’s over. Scramble.”

Willow and Gus frowned, and the boy was the one to speak. “But we just got here! Can’t we stay and hang out? Even if Luz is gone-”

Eda shook her head. “No. You all have to go, now. Especially you two.” She said, turning to the twins. The duo looked at Eda in confusion.

“But-” Edric spoke up, but Eda suddenly summoned Owlbert. The boy’s mouth snapped shut, his eyes going wide in fear. This time Emira spoke.

“Are- Are you gonna-?”

Eda scoffed, twirling her staff. “Of course not. You aren’t the only one coming here today.” The witch slammed her staff on the floor, the owl’s eyes glowing orange. “I’ve got something to settle with a certain someone. Someone you don’t want to be spotted by here.”

The twins shared a look, realization dawning on their faces. “Is she…” Edric said. The Owl Lady simply nodded in return.

“They’re coming for the portal. And none of you want to get caught in the crossfire.” Eda said, turning to Willow and Gus. The boy raised his fist.

“We can help! We broke you out of Belos’ castle!”

“And I’m really grateful, kid, but this is not sneaking around a bunch of mooks. Go home.” The youngest Clawthorne told them, her usually carefree attitude completely gone. It was… Unnerving, to say the least.

“Edalyn is right, children.” Lilith weighed in. “The events about unfold here are beyond your capabilities. You should take your leave.”

Gus made to protest, but Willow put a hand on his shoulder, slowly shaking her head. The young illusionist huffed, crossing his arms. “Fine, we’ll leave.” Willow gave the Clwathornes a smile with a slow nod, then walked the boy outside.

The twins still stood there for a few seconds. “Are you really going to fight  _ her _ ?” Edric asked, fear clear in his voice. Eda sighed, nodding.

“My oracle magic is a bit rusty, but…” The Owl Lady shared a look with her sister, tightening the grip of her staff. “Don’t worry, we won’t let her get your sister.” She said, giving the duo a smile.

The Blights shared a worried look. “I… I think we’ll be going now.” Emira said, looking at her brother. He nodded. “Good luck.” Both said in unison, then hesitantly walked towards the door, not before shooting the Owl House’s inhabitants a worried look.

Then, Eda, Lilith and King were left alone in the house. And they knew what was coming. The youngest Clawthorne sighed. “Alright, we all know the plan, right?” Both Lilith and King nodded. Eda took a deep breath. “Then, we wait.”

And so they did. Eda stepped outside, summoning a plastic chair and sitting on it, staff on her side. Azura had been ordered to stay away, they didn’t want the still recovering animal to suffer another injury. Lilith waited indoors, constantly checking out of the window. The wait was being torturous. She could appear at any moment, and Lilith felt so utterly  _ useless _ without her magic.

If anything went wrong, if Edalyn made but a simple mistake, one step out of place, one mistimed blink… It’d be over, and she’d be absolutely useless. Sure, Luz had taught her glyph magic, but it didn’t come nearly as easy to her as it did to the human.

“Stop being such a worrywart, it’s Eda! She’ll have that puny wench on her knees in no time!” King’s voice suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts. Lilith let out a light chuckle.

“You are right. There is nothing to worry about.” Lilith said, shooting King a timid smile. However, her gaze soon returned to the window, the deep feeling of worry intensifying. Sure, Edalyn was extremely powerful, but Odalia Blight was not to be underestimated.

The minutes soon started to crawl into half an hour, then an hour, then two. The wait was starting to become unbearable, Lilith couldn’t peel herself away from the window.

Meanwhile, Eda had been anxiously tapping the chair’s armrest. The usual calm of the wilderness, with the sound of the wind, waves and birds singing was getting to her nerves. A million possible outcomes raced through her head, all the ways everything could go south. All the ways her owlet could be torn from her side by her old school enemy.

Titan, she had hated Odalia since the moment the two had met. The Blight had always been a stuck up snob, an alpha bitch through and through. She never really got into any physical fights with the girl, but every single time the two shared a space there was an aura of venom and contempt.

It only intensified when she took her best friend and molded him into a broken husk of a man. Her grip on her staff tightened. She was going to bury that woman six feet underground.

As if summoned by that thought, the unmistakable sound of leaves and dirt crunching under military boots came to Eda’s ears. She was here.

“Edalyn Clawthorne.” Odalia’s voice came to her. “Your days of using the portal to the human realm have come to an end. Hand it over, and the Emperor may show you mercy.”

Eda scoffed. “If you want it, you’re gonna have to pry it from my cold dead hands.” She said, getting up from her seat and magicking the chair away. She turned around, staff in hand and coming face to face with Odalia. “But you already knew that.”

The Blight simply stared at her, cold unfeeling eyes staring deep into the Clawthorne’s soul. “I was afraid you’d say so.”

Eda sneered “Bullshit.” The Owl Lady twirled her staff, Owlbert’s eyes glowing orange. Odalia raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and summoned her own staff. Her Greater Armorhide palisman’s eyes glowed green as she clasped her staff.

“Language as foul as the wrench that uttered it.” The Blight stated, pointing her staff at Eda. “The Emperor will be pleased to have the portal. And your head.”

“I won’t let you take it. And I won’t let you take the girl.” Eda snarled, practically baring her fangs like an animal.

Odalia frowned at the mention of her daughter, left eye twitching with rage. Eda grinned, she got her. The Blight zapped forwards, leaving a trail of green magic behind her. The Clawthorne charged towards her opponent in response, both witches set into a collision course.

Then Eda swiftly moved to the side right before impact, ready to blast the witch to the side… And Odalia was suddenly gone. The Owl Lady’s eyes widened in shock, barely having time to create a shield to protect her from the bolt of lightning sent from behind her.

The force of the blast sent her flying across the yard for a few meters, swiftly landing on her feet, Owlbert in hand. Odalia grinned, twirling her staff. “What’s the matter, Edalyn? Haven’t you ever fought an oracle?”

Eda let out a low, animalistic growl and sped towards her enemy. Her staff glowed with yellow magic, prepared to blast Odalia, but that wasn’t the main attack. No, the main attack activated right after Odalia expertly parried the blast of yellow energy with a magical shield, a giant Hooty clone emerging from the ground and engulfing the Blight.

Eda smirked. Then she felt an electric shock running up her spine and she let out a scream of pain, being blasted towards the forest. Odalia was standing right where Eda had been, with a face of absolute boredom.

The Owl Lady groaned, slowly getting on her feet and holding onto Owlbert. A faint mist of purple oracle magic was surrounding Odalia, who smirked at her opponent. So was predicting every single one of Eda’s moves, and dodging them before the attacks could connect.

She had to be faster than Odalia’s reflexes. Eda quickly produced a flask containing a grey potion the Owl Lady then charged, tossing the potion halfway through. A thick smoke erupted from the liquid, engulfing both fighters in it.

Odalia’s eyes narrowed. She was trying to distract her. The Blight drew a purple spell circle, and a vision of the future quickly flashed before her. She smirked. A powerful gust of wind dissipated the smoke, and a barrage of golden magical projectiles were thrown at her from all directions.

Odalia swiftly dodged them all, moving between them like water flowing between the cracks of a rock, with a precision and swiftness unnatural for even a witch. The Blight on with her ‘dance’ until she sensed something moving nearby.

Just as she predicted, Eda became visible again and lunged forwards, trying to strike her with her magically reinforced staff. Odalia quickly dodged the hits, moving her head to the sides just before the Owl Lady could hit her.

It was all too easy, Odalia calmly walking back while moving away from the hits in the last second at unnatural speeds. The Blight’s smug grin never disappearing from her face.

“Even with your curse removed, you’re too slow.” She taunted, her venomous silver eyes looking down on Eda. But the other witch didn’t stop her barrage, continuing to move forward. She didn’t even react to Odalia’s words, focused on trying to land a hit.

Then a slight smirk emerged on the Clawthorne’s face, and Odalia frowned. Before she even had time to react, the ground under her glowed light blue and she was encased in an icy pillar from the shoulders down.

Eda stepped back with a smug grin, stopping her attacks. “What’s wrong, Blight? Never heard of glyphs before?”

Odalia grunted, trying to pull herself free, but nothing. She was trapped. The Owl Lady walked over towards her, taking wide, carefree strides. She leaned forwards, her face inches away from Odalia’s. “I am so gonna enjoy this.” She gleefully said, Owlbert’s eyes shining on cue.

“You are not the only one with tricks.” The Blight replied. Eda opened her mouth to speak, but then she realized Odalia’s palisman wasn’t on her staff. Something suddenly rammed onto her side, tossing her into the ground with a yelp. 

The armorhide palisman growled. While perched on the staff it was a bit bigger than Owlbert, but now its head was around the same height as Eda’s stomach. The Owl Lady got up, swirling her staff.

“A palisman? Really?” Eda scoffed. “This is your trick?”

“No.”

The palisman’s eyes glowed purple, clear indication of oracle magic. Eda frowned for a second, then realized what was happening. Odalia’s oracle spirit emerged from behind it, tackling Eda and dragging her away.

The Owl Lady yelped, breaking free with a blast of magic. When she looked back at where Odalia had been, she saw the pillar of ice had been melted away enough for the witch to escape, and the palisman was nowhere to be seen. She had used it to summon the spirit for long enough so the palisman could summon a fire that melted away the ice.

Eda tightened the grip on her staff, scanning her surroundings. Odalia could be anywhere. Everything felt unnervingly still, like the other witch had sucked all life out of the area. And knowing Odalia she could have.

The Owl Lady felt the telltale feeling of illusion magic behind her and turned around, fast as lightning, just in time to parry a swing from Odalia’s staff with her own as if they were using swords. The clash of the two magically charged staves sent a shockwave of magical energy around them, causing the entire forest to shake.

Odalia pushed Eda away with a kick, then a gust of wind through her staff. The Clawthorne sank her heels on the dirt, stopping herself from being thrown off the cliff and launched herself forwards.

Odalia drew a green spell circle and a massive wall of vines and bark sprouted in front of her, but Eda flew right through it with a fire spell. The two witches clashed again into another parry, Eda managing to push Odalia back with the momentum for a couple of meters before coming into a standstill.

The Blight knew she wouldn’t be able to hold for much longer, Eda’s raw magical power was too much. But she needn’t hold for much longer, Odalia smirked. “I must admit, I am impressed. However, time is running out.”

Eda frowned, then her eyes widened in realization when one of Odalia’s fingers traced a small, brown spell circle. She barely had time to react before a flurry of black and white feathers pounced at her, the witch throwing Azura off her with a magical shield. The beast’s eyes were glowing orange.

“Bad cokatrice! Sit! Uh… Don’t kill me!” Eda commanded, but the animal simply hissed, feathers puffed out. Odalia chuckled.

“I must congratulate you, Edalyn. You forced me to step down to your level and indulge on… Lowly magic.” She said with disdain, looking at the cockatrice. The Blight tapped her staff on the ground, and the beast lunged forwards.

Eda yelped as Azura jumped on her, barely stopping the animal from biting her throat by putting her staff in the way. She let out a howl of pain as the creature stabbed her with her sickle claws.

Odalia grinned, drawing a spell circle. Her oracle spirit appeared behind her, floating over towards the struggling duo. Eda stared at Odalia, knowing full well she was unable to do anything as the purple ghost put its hands on her silver mane and extracted the key to the human realm.

“You won’t get away with this.” Eda hissed, still trying to push the cockatrice off her. Odalia huffed.

“Oh but I believe I have. As much as I’d like to witness which beast emerges victorious, I’m afraid I must make my leave. Perhaps the Emperor himself will arrive later on to get you in person.” The Blight said with a smirk, before letting go of her staff, which started levitating. “Goodbye, Edalyn.”

Odalia then sat on the staff, taking off to the skies with the key of the portal in her hands. She let out a satisfied sigh, it was over. She had won. Amity would go back to where she belonged, and the Emperor would reward her for successfully completing her mission.

The sun was beginning to set, which meant Amity would be returning soon. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a vision of the near future appearing in her mind. Too soon, she wouldn’t make it to the manor in time.

It didn’t matter, the Owl Lady wouldn’t be a hindrance anymore, and even if Lilith managed to find her, the older Clawthorne was literally powerless. Odalia gently pushed the tip of her staff down, directing it towards the forest floor. 

The staff came to a gentle stop, and Odalia summoned the door that led to the human realm. She then created a stump to sit on using plant magic, sat on it and waited. It didn’t take much longer until the portal door opened, a familiar girl walking through it, seemingly unaware of her mother’s presence.

Odalia put on her best smile. “Hello, Amity.” The woman simply said. Amity tensed up, and slowly turned around, facing her mother. All color drained from her face, standing right in front of the woman that had tormented her life for so long.

“W...What?” Amity could barely say. Odalia gently got up, walking over to her daughter.

“Oh, Amity. It’s okay now. I’m here.” The woman said with a repulsive fake sweetness in her voice. “My poor, poor Amity, what have they done to you?” She said, getting closer to the girl. The portal closed behind her, leaving Amity no escape.

“You were such a good girl…” Odalia said, slightly crouching so she could be eye level with Amity. “But don’t worry, I am here. You’ll come back to where you belong, those wretched wild witches won’t be able to use you anymore.”

“B-but… You cast me away-” Amity said, timidly taking a step back. She felt so utterly powerless it was sickening, everything she had worked for about to disappear before her very eyes.

“it was just so ill tongues would not speak of us. You have to understand, I only want what’s best for you.” Odalia continued, still in that sickening sweet tone. “I don’t know what those corrupted witches and their human pet told you, but it doesn’t matter. We’re going home.”

Amity’s expression changed all of the sudden, rage becoming evident in her face. Something snapped. “No! I was already home!” Odalia reeled back in surprise at Amity’s outburst. “They’re more of my family than you ever were!”

Odalia frowned. “It is worse than I could have possibly imagined. They’ve stripped you of all decency it seems! It matters not, you’re coming back with me.” The woman said, all possible gentleness disappearing from her voice. This was the Odalia Blight Amity knew.

“I’m not! I already told father, this is where I belong!” Amity yelled back, fist clenched so hard her knuckles had gone completely pale. Her voice came out shaky, but she didn’t move an inch.

“So be it.” Odalia said. Amity looked at her in confusion, then she let out a yelp as the woman grabbed her wrist and started walking towards her staff. “Let’s go.”

Amity dug her heels on the dirt, pulling back. “No! Let me go!” The girl cried out, struggling to shake her mother off. Odalia’s grip tightened.

“Amity, stop acting so foolishly.” She chastised her daughter, pulling the struggling girl towards the staff. “This will only make your rehabilitation more severe. Now get on that staff immediately or I’ll-”

Odalia suddenly felt all air leave her lungs as a giant abomination fist emerged before her and hit her square in the chest.

* * *

Lilith watched as Odalia kept dodging Edalyn’s hits. She winced with every missed blow, nervously tapping her thigh. Her sister was at a disadvantage. Sure, Eda was powerful enough to wipe the floor with Odalia, but the Blight’s oracle magic was perfected to the point of being able to easily predict every single one of her opponent’s moves.

She had to act now. “King, I’m leaving. Do not do anything rash.” Lilith warned the little demon. King nodded, still watching Eda battle Odalia. He wouldn’t admit it, but the worry in his eyes was clearly visible.

Lilith quietly made it to the kitchen, stepping out through the back door. Azura was sitting there, listening intently to the battle on the other side of the house. Lilith took a deep breath, summoned her staff and hopped on it.

Mist spread her wings and took off, flying down the cliff and close to the water so Odalia wouldn’t see them. And so they continued flying for a few meters until they made sure they were far enough from the fight, then the staff went up, soaring over the forest.

The palisman’s wings were beating at top speed, the staff flying like a bullet towards their location. Lilith gripped the wood with determination, they could do this. She could do this. For Edalyn, for Luz. For Amity.

Her destination soon became visible on the horizon. Blight Manor stood tall against the surrounding forest, its tallest tower pointing to the sky. The witch swiftly landed in front of the gates of the manor, the enormous building looming over her.

She took a deep breath, praying to the Titan there was someone home. The woman rang the enchanted doorbell. A few seconds later, the door was opened by Emira, who stared at her, completely stunned.

“Lilith? What…?” The twin began to ask, but she was swiftly interrupted by Lilith.

“I need to talk to your father.  _ Now. _ ”

Emira blinked in confusion, but she let Lilith in, sensing the urgency in the witch’s voice. “He-He’s in his studio. I-I’ll take you there.”

Lilith nodded, and Emira was quick to begin walking. She knew the path there like the palm of her hand, it only took a few seconds before she reached her father’s studio. “Here… Here it is. But… What’s wrong?”

“Your mother is battling Edalyn, and she needs help.” Was the only thing the adult said. Emira paled and nodded. She knew that was going to happen, but the shock came anyways. The teen excused herself and quickly walked away, leaving Lilith alone.

The woman took a deep breath, then gently opened the door of the studio. Alador was on his desk, nose deep on a stack of files he needed to sign. He sighed.

“Children, what did I tell you abou-” He lifted his gaze, golden eyes widening upon seeing Lilith. “Lilith?! What are you doing here?! How did you even get in here?” Alador said, quickly getting up from his seat. He felt a pang of dread building up in his stomach.

“Alador, we need your help.” Lilith said, walking into the studio. “Odalia, she- She’s attacking the Owl House. Edalyn is battling her but I don't think she can win. She’s trying to take the portal to the human realm.”

Alador sighed. “Lilith… I understand the importance of the portal for you. Truly, I do. But I fail to see why I should be involved in this affair. This is solely between my wife and you two.” He explained.

He wanted to help, really. But it was simply not worthy. His reputation would crumble, not to mention going against the Emperor’s will, risking his status as Head of the Abominations Coven. And that wasn’t even considering how it would affect her marriage…

Then Lilith said all he needed to hear. “Amity is in the human realm.”

Alador’s gaze hardened, his body filled with resolve. “Where are they?”

Lilith gave him a smile. “I’ll show you. Come with me.”

Alador nodded as the two walked towards the main entrance of the manor. Alador paused for a moment and turned. “Edric, Emira! I’m leaving!” The twins quickly came down stairs, looking at their father. And at Lilith. The teens nodded, and so Alador and Lilith stepped outside.

It was time to settle this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! College happened. Questions are answered, and Alador decides to finally do what he should've done a long time ago... But, will he be able to? Hopefully your answers won't take so long to answer this time! As always, leave a kudo and a comment if you liked it!
> 
> The greater armorhide is basically this:   
> (Saurosuchus by Nobu Tamura)


	20. Break

For Amity, everything happened in a blur. Everything had gone so well, so  _ right _ in the human world it had felt almost like a dream. Then, then that dream had turned into a nightmare when her mother had appeared on the other side of the portal, neither Eda nor Lilith anywhere in sight.

She knew Odalia had talked to her, but she was too shocked, too terrified to listen. She knew it was some of the same old manipulation. Then her mother had insulted Eda and Lilith. She had insulted  _ Luz _ , and she had snapped. Then her mother had grabbed her wrist, had tried to drag her towards her staff and take her to the manor…

And the abomination fist appeared, hitting her mother in the chest with such strength the woman had almost fallen to her knees, letting out a pathetic wheeze and gasping for air. Amity wondered if it had been her subconscious, trying to defend herself. But the goo was weird. It was orange, and it had a weird magical aura around it. It couldn’t be hers. But, then, whose?

Odalia seemed to be asking herself the same thing, holding onto her staff as to not fall face first into the ground. Her silver eyes darted around the forest, analyzing every bush, every tree. Then the rustling of some leaves reached her eyes, the witch’s head snapped towards the sound. And her eyes widened in shock.

Before her was Lilith Clawthorne, face full of hatred towards Odalia. And leaning on her, grasping his chest and gasping for air… Alador.

“What in the Titan’s name is the meaning of this?!” Odalia yelled, enraged. Amity slowly backed down, her terrified eyes locked on her father’s. He shot her a quick look, then slowly let go of Lilith.

“I… I told you.” The man groaned. “To leave Amity out of this.”

Odalia scoffed. “Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable! What is wrong with you?! I’m taking back our daughter, and you attack me?!” The woman turned to the girl in question, seeing she had put some distance between the two. She reached over, but an abomination formed between mother and daughter.

Odalia stared at it in disbelief, then looked back at Alador. His eyes were a far cry of their usual detached, cold gaze. They were like a raging wildfire. “What do you think you are doing?”

“You know, you were right about one thing, Odalia.” Alador growled. “For the longest time, I have utterly failed to be there for my children. It’s time I change that.”

“By doing what, exactly?” His wife replied. “Letting her run off, live in the woods like an animal with some filthy criminals and romance a human like a degenerate?!”

Amity’s breath caught on her throat at the words. Her own mother… She jumped in place when she felt something grab her wrist, but she soon realized it was Lilith, who gave her a warm smile. She had snuck away with Odalia distracted by Alador and taken the portal briefcase with her.

“By letting her live, Odalia! We have obviously failed miserably at making her happy, and if she finds that with the Clawthornes then so be it!”

“Don’t be such a fool, Alador! Think of the family name! Her reputation! We’ve all made some sacrifices for it!”

“TO HELL WITH IT!” Alador roared. Everyone froze in place, completely stunned by what had just happened. Amity’s heart almost stopped upon seeing her father, the one man she had always seen in his studio, climbing to the top, utter those very words. The girl looked up at Lilith… And were the woman’s eyes getting watery?

“What?” Was the only thing Odalia muttered, after a few seconds that felt like ages. This only seemed to fuel Alador’s outburst.

“I didn’t make some sacrifices, Odalia. I gave up on  _ everything _ ! I gave up on my likes, on my mannerisms, on my  _ friendships! _ ” Alador exclaimed, walking over towards Odalia, finger pointed at her. “The Clawthornes were like family to me, and I had to throw them away all because of YOU and this wasteful, soul-draining marriage! The children were the only good thing to happen to me in almost thirty years, and yet you somehow still managed to destroy that!”

The man got closer, his accusatory finger almost touching Odalia’s chest gem. “So if any of them finds solace with the Clawthornes, then. So. Be. It.”

Odalia blinked, then stared at Alador’s finger. The woman scoffed. “You’ve truly lost your mind. Perhaps you were the problem all along.” She then noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.

Lilith was leading Amity away from the area, trying to sneak out from Odalia’s gaze. The woman frowned and quickly zapped towards them to take her daughter back, but she instead crashed head first into abomination goo.

The Blight slowly peeled herself off it, shaking the goop off with disgust before turning towards Alador. The man stared her down. “I told you. Leave her be.”

“Alador, this is ridiculous. We both know you cannot harm me in any way, stop being a fool.” Odalia said, trying to step around the abomination to no avail, the creature quickly sliding around to block her way. She groaned, Amity and Lilith were getting away.

She knew she couldn’t get past Alador’s abominations, his mastery of those arts was too advanced, the orange creation would easily stop her from ever accomplishing anything. Hold on, it was orange? She smirked.

“You know, Alador. It truly is a shame.” She said, slowly drawing a dark purple spell circle. The man frowned, seeing an oracle spirit manifesting behind her. “You’re such a skilled magical user… It’s a true shame you’re now standing in my way.”

Alador frowned. “You cannot harm me either Odalia. It’s over.”

Odalia scoffed, turning to face her husband. “Oh, I don’t think so.” The woman looked at Alador straight in the eye. “I really didn’t want to come to this Alador, but… If you stand in the way of the Emperor’s will, you leave me no other choice.”

The spirit floated over to the abomination, then slowly started to phase through it. “You see, I know abominations will dissolve if their owner loses consciousness. And now I wonder, if it’s  _ your _ abomination what hits you… Would it reflect back to me?”

Alador’s eyes widened, watching as the spirit was fully absorbed by the abomination. The summoning let out a groan, its green eyes suddenly glowing purple. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“I am a Blight. Unlike you, I haven’t forgotten what that means.” The possessed abomination took a step forward. “This is your last chance, Alador.”

He clenched his fists. “I won’t let you harm her, Odalia.”

Odalia scoffed. “I am trying to help her, Alador. But it’s obvious you are too blinded by your foolishness to see it. I am afraid you are just an obstacle now.”

She knew Alador could summon an army of abominations if needed, she couldn’t just distract him. He had to go down. For her children’s future. The possessed abomination groaned, throwing a punch towards Alador, but he was too quick.

Another abomination, this time purple, appeared between him and the fist and took the hit. “You truly are despicable.” The man said with a sneer.

“I’m doing what’s best for our family!” Odalia reproached, the orange abomination throwing a flurry of punches at Alador’s. The purple creature kept taking the hits, parrying the ones it could stop. But Odalia’s abomination was unnaturally fast, fueled by the spirit inside its body it quickly moved around the blocks, predicting them perfectly.

“For thirty years I’ve kept this family’s reputation intact! Never has the Blight name carried such a pristine distinction and nobility as it has under  _ me _ !” The woman continued. Her abomination kept its flurry of attacks, unrelenting. 

Alador kept trying to block the hits and reform the abomination, but more and more of the summoning was being nicked away too quickly. He couldn’t keep up. Then, the fist got him. It was a hit to his shoulder, and he just knew it had been light on purpose. She was just testing if the hit would reflect.

Her smirk indicated it didn’t. She had found a loophole. “I’m sorry it had to come to this,  _ dear _ . I truly am.” Odalia said. Before Alador could react he received a precise kick in the chest. The man let out a pained gasp. Right in the bile sac.

The abomination then threw another two punches at him, this time right in the face, then another kick to the torso. Alador fell to the ground, and drew a spell circle, but it crumbled. The hit to the chest had momentarily cut off his magic. He wheezed in pain, staring down at Odalia. 

She simply raised an eyebrow. “Do not give me that look. You got in my way, and as such got in the way of the Emperor’s will. It truly didn’t have to come to this, Alador.”

The abomination raised its fist, ready to strike down on Alador and knock him out. This was it, he had failed. He had failed his daughter again, Odalia had won once more. He knew she’d somehow manage to twist everything that had happened in her favor, rob him of any chance to make amends. It was over.

He braced for impact, waiting for the fist of his own creation to knock him out… But the fist never came. He opened his eyes, looking at the abomination… Made completely out of stone. His eyes widened in shock, Odalia doing the same.

Before the woman could even think of doing anything she was suddenly trapped by several coiling magical tubes restraining her in place, not even letting her head move. Tubes with owl faces in them.

“Newsflash, asshole!” An unmistakable voice said from behind Alador. “Beast Keeping spells run out if the caster gets away from the animal!”

A crimson heeled boot landed next to Alador’s face. “Hey Al. Lookin’ good, ya did something to your hair?” Eda snarked, Azura at her side snarling at Odalia. The witch leaned down and offered him a hand. The man let out a relieved chuckle, taking her hand and getting up with an audible groan.

He stumbled forwards after getting on his feet, the only reason he didn’t fall face first on the forest floor was the woman holding him in place. “Easy there, ya got a serious beating. Didn’t take her for a physical abuser.” She said, giving the tied up woman a glare. Odalia let out a muffled roar, struggling against her bindings to no avail.

Alador coughed, taking pained breaths. “Loopholes… Happen.” He let out between breaths. Odalia sneered.

“Sheesh. Hold on, I’ll patch ya up-”

Alador raised his hand, interrupting Eda. “Just… Hold on…” He said, slowly peeling himself off the witch. The woman slowly let him go, carefully keeping him balanced. The man limped over to his wife, whimpering along.

Odalia shot him a cold stare, her demand clear. To let her go. But he wouldn’t. Not yet. The man took a deep breath, feeling the magic of the environment sweep inside of him. His own magic was starting to pump out of his sac again. Good, he was going to need it.

He drew a spell circle, a white one. It came out shaky, unstable, but it would do. He then took his necklace off, slowly putting it inside the white ring of magic, where it levitated. Odalia’s eyes widened, realizing what he was doing, and started struggling once more.

Divorces on the Boiling Isles were usually much like those on Earth, involving paperwork and constant compromises. But there was another way. When two witches married, they did so under the Titan’s blessing, and so the Titan had the power to break a union if any of the witches in the marriage accepted.

Such divorces rarely succeeded, the Titan would only take back its blessings under very specific circumstances. So rare in fact, most witches don’t even know about it unless they research it.

And Alador had. For an entire week, he had researched every single possible opportunity. And this seemed like his best choice.

“Odalia Blight.” He started. “Our marriage was one made out of politics, not of love. That I understood since the second we were engaged. I did not expect love, nor passion. However, in the last weeks you have crossed a line. You have betrayed my trust and you have gone after our own children, our own, shared blood. And now… Now, you’ve betrayed the very oath given before the Titan himself, my injuries as evidence of what you’ve done.”

Alador took a deep, shaky breath. “That’s why I call upon the Titan himself to judge your actions, and break the oath you have carelessly broken.”

Then the ring’s white glow intensified, both Alador’s bracelet and Odalia’s chest gem blowing in pulses. Time came to a stop as everyone watched the scene unfold, each pulse of light causing Alador’s heart to skip a beat. It was a gamble, a huge gamble. Magical divorces usually ended in failure, and if he failed this he was out of options.

Then the gems glowed green at the exact same time before their glow slowly disappeared. The white spell circle dissolved in the air, Alador’s necklace fell on the dirt. A few seconds of silence.

It was done. He was no longer a Blight. The man let out a wheeze. Then he fell on his knees, unable to stop a nervous laughter to come out of his throat. After everything that had happened, all those years. It was over.

Odalia was absolutely furious, violently trying to worm her way out of the owl tubes restraining her with muffled screams of rage and giving Alador the most absolutely murderous look the man had ever seen. Then a golden spell circle sweeped around her and she felt limp.

“Ah, that felt good.” Eda said, crossing her arms. “Nothing a good ol’ sleep spell can’t fix.” She looked down at Alador, a slight smile crept onto her lips.

Their friendship had been utterly destroyed, and it was possible they would never be the same as they had once been. However, today Alador had shown her she was wrong. The man she once knew was still there. And he was right before her very eyes.

She hesitated for a second, then put her hand on his shoulder. Alador looked at her with a grin. “Well I didn’t ruin the wedding, but I sure as hell crumbled that marriage.” Eda snarked. Alador chuckled in response, taking a deep breath. Then he let out a slight whine of pain. “You want me to patch you up now?”

Alador snorted. “Whatever happened to making me regret ever being born?”

Eda rolled her eyes. “Ah please, I still have plenty of time for that.” She then drew a blue spell circle, clearly healing magic. The circle grew in size, large enough for a witch to sit on its center, and coiled itself around Alador.

The circle slowly went up and down, magically scanning every injury on the man’s body. After that was done, its light intensified. When it ended, Alador felt most of the pain had vanished. “You still should really rest a bit but I think that’s about it.” Eda announced.

Alador sighed, slowly getting up. He looked at Eda straight in the eye. “Edalyn, I…” The man hesitated, averting his gaze. Eda sighed.

“I know. Listen… We both screwed up big time. And you got the short end of the stick.” The woman said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I just… We’ll figure it out, ‘kay?” She said, extending her hand.

Alador looked at it, stunned. It had been such a long time… He sighed, then shook it. “We will, Calamity.” He said with a smirk. Eda smiled back.

“Nice to have you back, Paladin.” The Owl Lady said. The two simply stood there, sharing a look only two reunited friends could ever share before Eda sighed. “You should probably go with the kids, catch them up to speed. I bet they’re gonna choose you.”

Alador looked at his now ex-wife, completely unconscious on the ground. “Yeah…” He turned back to Eda. “Also… Amity…” He started. “I just- Could you tell her… I know I haven’t… Been the best father figure to her, and… She has no reason to ever forgive me. But... If she ever needs her father… Her  _ dad _ .” He added, emphasizing on that last word. “I… I’ll be there for her. I’ll try to be.”

Eda gave him a slow nod. “I will.” She then looked at Odalia. “So, what do we do with her? Wanna take her to the manor?”

Alador frowned, then shook his head. “No. Someone should give Emperor Belos the good news. In fact, I think I have an idea.” He said, looking at Azura now. The animal tilted its head, curious about the sudden attention.

* * *

Being given a promotion was much more boring than Steve had imagined. For some reason, going up the ranks of the Coven somehow being stationed on one of the several balconies of the castle. Well, there was an actual reason of course, the Owl Lady’s rescue.

But still, it was unbearably boring. Or at least it was until he spotted a strange figure flying towards the castle. He squinted his eyes under his mask. A cockatrice? But they weren’t even native to this area of the Isles. Maybe it was the beast of a fellow guard? No, it wasn’t possible. And hold on, was it carrying someone on its back?

The beast soon reached the balcony, hovering over it. The flying reptile snarled at him, and Steve raised its spear, ready to defend himself. That was, until the animal let the unconscious body slide down from its back, Steve barely able to catch them in time.

The animal flew off again, leaving Steve alone with the witch. He gasped in surprise upon seeing the mysterious figure’s face. It was Odalia Blight. The man quickly summoned an abomination, which picked her up, and brought her to the healers.

To both the healer and his surprise, the Blight was seemingly just under the effect of a sleep spell. The castle’s healer carefully cast another spell, negating the sleep one. The woman shot upright with a gasp, looking around.

“Where-?!” The witch said, confused. Then she realized where she was. What had happened. For the first time in her life, a shiver of dread ran down Odalia’s spine. She quickly got up from the gurney she had been placed on, swatting Steve away when the door opened.

Kikimora stood under the door frame, hands behind her back. Her expression was indecipherable thanks to her veil. But Odalia had no doubt she had a grin hidden under it. “Odalia, I see you’ve returned from your mission. The Emperor wishes to see you.”

Odalia simply nodded. The Blight exited the medical wing of the castle, making her way towards the throne room. The halls of the castle felt extremely long yet too short at the same time, and then she found herself before the gates of the throne room.

She brushed aside any dirt that had stuck on her uniform, then opened the gates. The room was completely, save for the Emperor himself. Odalia walked forwards for a bit before kneeling. “I’m at your service, Emperor Belos.”

The Emperor tilted his head like a predatory animal, ready to strike. “Ah, Odalia. I was starting to wonder when you’d return from your little mission.” He said, not even getting up. “I take it your attempt was… unsuccessful.”

“My liege, I can explain.” Odalia said. Belos’ eyes narrowed under his mask.

“You better do, Odalia. If I recall correctly, you refused any support troops because, as you said, they would do nothing but get in your way. Not only that, but you used your oracle powers for this operation, didn’t you?”

“Indeed, my liege. Everything was going as planned, but-”

“But you disobeyed my orders.” Belos’ voice said behind her. The woman barely stopped herself from jumping in place at the Emperor’s sudden teleportation.

“My liege, I don’t understand?”

She felt Belos’ piercing stare on her back. “Do not try to fool me Odalia, you’re not the only one with Oracle powers here. I observed your entire operation from this very room. You were tasked with retrieving the portal to the human realm. In no moment was your estranged daughter involved.”

“But, my liege…”

“But nothing. In putting your own selfish goals before your appointed duties you sealed your own failure. Alador Fongerhorn’s intervention happened solely due to your reckless decision of involving your own family issues in the mission.”

Odalia frowned at Belos’ usage of Alador’s bachelor name, but made no mention of it. “Alador’s intervention was… Unforeseen. I do not understand how it managed to slip past my visions, but-”

“He did not appear in your visions because your own hubris blinds your magical capabilities. You are so sure of your power and your control it affects your very magic.” Belos growled, this time standing right in front of her, his imposing shadow looming over the woman.

“Even then, surely Alador will face the consequences of such treasonous acts.” Odalia said. 

“No.” Belos dryly replied. “Alador Fongerhorn’s loyalty to me has not suffered in the slightest. His involvement was purely an emotional one, and as such judging him for treason is not a possibility. And even then, his magical prowess with abominations is undeniable, just like his reputation within the coven. To even touch him would mean losing years of research and the loyalty of an entire coven.”

Odalia lifted her head. “But my liege, that’s preposterous! He’s a collaborator with the Owl Lady! He’s a traitor!”

Belos’ blue eyes pierced down at her, forcing the woman to avert her gaze. “Tell me, Odalia. Do you remember what happened during the Owl Lady’s imprisonment here, around a month ago?”

Odalia frowned. “A few wild witches caused chaos in certain population centers, but I don’t…”

“That’s what the official story was, indeed. What actually happened, however, were massive protests in several important towns across the Isles. And, as you have said, our troops are woefully unqualified. They were barely able to contain these uprisings.” Belos turned around, looking at the Titan’s beating heart. “The Owl Lady has the people’s favor. And now, so will your ex-husband. We must be pragmatic, Odalia, brute force will only keep the masses in their place in the short term and if we become too aggressive with the persecution of the Clawthornes, we may as well find an uprising in our hands. One we’re simply not prepared for.”

Belos turned around to face Odalia again. “I will not punish you for this failure, as it was the closest we have been to obtaining the portal in decades. However, I believe you are no longer fit to lead the attacks yourself, lest you be distracted by your personal connections to a certain resident of the Owl House. For now on, you shall be relegated to the planning of the assaults and stay behind whenever an attempt to take the key is underway. Am I understood?”

Odalia made to object, but decided against it. She was already on thin ice. “Understood, Emperor Belos.”

“Very well. You are dismissed, Odalia.”

The woman nodded and got up. When she got to her private chambers, she shut the door behind her. The guards on the door flinched as they heard the sound of objects crashing and Odalia screaming in rage.

* * *

To say Luz suffered some serious whiplash upon stepping back through the portal to the Boiling Isles would be an understatement. After a long conversation with her mother, Camila had agreed to meet with Eda to discuss Luz’s future. Sure, she loved that her daughter had finally found a place where she fit in, but the prospect of her daughter running around a demon realm had… Really worried her. Not to mention the issues with her education in the human realm.

And then, right after stepping through the portal she was told about the events that had unfolded the day prior. Eda’s battle with Odalia, Amity’s near kidnapping, the divorce… She had legitimately needed to sit down upon hearing the news.

Amity herself still seemed a bit shaken about the entire ordeal, despite a day having passed since then. Fortunately for the two girls, both Clawthorne sisters had offered to tour Camila around the Isles, and while Luz would’ve usually complained about not being able to tag alone she had too much in her mind. Camila had accepted the offer, understanding the need for the girls to have some privacy. Even King had decided to leave them some space.

And so they sat there on the couch, a tense silence filling the room. Luz fidgeted around with her fingers for a bit before clearing her throat. “So… Your parents… They’re really divorced now?”

Amity nodded. “Yeah… I… I really couldn’t see what happened that well but... it looked like it.”

Luz hummed. “And… What about Ed and Em? Do you… Do you know anything?” The human girl asked.

Her girlfriend sighed. “I got a text from them. Apparently in this kind of divorce they can choose who they will stay with? I think it has to do with their age, honestly. But anyways, they chose Father, obviously.” The girl frowned. “I do think they aren’t gonna live with him tho.”

Luz raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” 

Amity nodded. “Yeah… Even if he’s… Trying to improve, he’s still… You know.” Luz winced with a nod. “I think he knows it at least. He offered to get them an apartment.”

“Woah... “ Was all Luz could say. “He’s really trying, isn’t he?”

Amity gave her a sheepish smile. “Yeah… He is.”

“I guess you’re still going to stay in the Owl House?” Luz asked. Amity nodded with a smile.

“Of course I am.” She said, taking Luz’s hand and nuzzling against her side. Luz smiled, a faint blush in her face, and the two cuddled up together on the couch, the sun rays filtering through the window and basking them.

The couple stayed like that for what were probably entire hours, taking in each other’s company with a blissful smile on their faces. Then they heard the front door open, Luz lazily opening an eye. When had she even closed them? Had they fallen asleep?

Both of her eyes opened wide when she saw who walked in. First it was Lilith, followed by Eda and her mother. The three women were chatting amicably, mostly explaining some last details about the Isles to Camila.

The trio soon noticed Luz looking at them, and decided to ignore the way Amity was curled up against her. The human teen didn’t say anything, but her giddy energy betrayed her entirely.

Camila shared a look with the three witches, then walked over to Luz. “So? What did you think?” Luz asked excitedly, albeit a bit worried. Camila kneeled so she was face to face with Luz.

“Mija… I can see how important this place is to you.” She said, sparing a knowing look to Amity, who seemed to be waking up. “Eda and Lilith have shown me around a bit, including school.” The woman continued. She gave her daughter a warm smile. “I can see from the way everyone talks about you how much you’ve grown in these last few months… And I think this is the best you’ve done in school in years.”

Luz felt like her nervousness was about to make her combust from the inside out, and Camila must have felt it because she gave her daughter a reassuring squeeze in the shoulder. “I think… You really should stay, mi pequeña brujita.”

Luz let out a giddy squeal, throwing herself into her mother with an excited hug. Fortunately Amity had woken up enough to catch herself before unceremoniously falling on her side. “Gracias, gracias, gracias!” Luz squeaked, burying her face on her mother’s neck.

“You’ll still sleep back at home for half the week, and me telling Principal Hal I’ll be homeschooling you is not a joke, I will try and give you at least some basic human education, okay?” Camila said. The last part sounded really strange for her, but this was her life now.

Luz eagerly nodded on her mother’s neck before breaking her embrace and turning to Amity. “You hear that?! I can stay!” She said, this time hugging the witchling. Amity lightly patted the other girl’s back. 

“I told you she’d let you stay.” The witchling then lifted her gaze, looking at the three adults. Camila had simply crossed her arms, a smile on her face.

Her little Luz had grown so much… And she couldn’t be prouder of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it folks! This is pretty much the last chapter of the fic, the next one will be the epilogue. I'll save the parting words for that one but... Man. It's been a ride.
> 
> As always, leave a kudo and a comment! It gives me the happy chemicals!


	21. Owls and Sparrows

A figure zoomed through the clear skies of the Boiling Isles. A large cockatrice, with white feathers and a black underside swiftly flew hundreds of feet above the ground, at speeds only rivalled by the magical staves of witches. On top of it, a young woman sitting on its shoulders with a determined look on her face. However, it was no ordinary woman, as evidenced by her round ears.

A griffon the size of a rhinoceros suddenly flew past them with a screech, a slightly older witch with a fish hook earring on its shoulders. “See you at the finish line!” Viney yelled, getting farther. Luz frowned, gently brushing Azura’s jaw. The cockatrice huffed in understanding.

Her red back feathers and her comb flattened against the animal’s back and head, giving it a more aerodynamic shape. Luz quickly hugged the animal’s neck, sticking closer to her body. The cockatrice then let out a mighty screech, powerful wingbeats driving the duo higher and higher.

Azura then stopped climbing up, opening her wings to stop their ascension. Luz leaned back and opened her arms, basking in the early Autumn sun. She could see the whole Isles from up there. And their opponent. Azura slowly started to dip back down, Luz tightly hugging the animal again so as to not be sent flying off by the winds.

Azura let out a determined huff, and with a powerful flap of her wings dived at high speed. The animal stuck her wings as close to her body as powerful, Luz sticking her face on her mount’s feathers, the feeling of the acceleration sending a chill down her spine and causing her adrenaline to spike up.

Azura kept falling, building up more and more speed like a peregrine falcon on the hunt. Then, around a hundred feet above the ground she pulled up, speeding over the forests of the Isles and towards both the finish line and Puddles.

The cockatrice quickly catched up, speeding past Viney and her mouth. The witch only stared wide eyed at her opponent, seeing her about to reach the Fongerhorn estate. The human had practically won.

Then a tiny cyan light flew past both Puddles and Azura, swiftly flying over the lonely willow sitting on the pond’s edge. The three former Blight kids stood there, the girls with their arms crossed and Edric pumping his fist in celebration. Mitts happily flew over to his owner, perching on Edric’s shoulder as the man cooed and scratched his chin.

Azura opened her wings to act as parachutes and slow down, Luz chuckling at the scene. The cockatrice then landed in front of the three siblings, a certain witch with auburn hair walking over. Luz gave her a smile, hopping off the cockatrice and pulling her into a kiss. Azura simply huffed, ruffling her feathers and heading to the shadow under the tree to take a nap. 

Puddles landed soon after, Viney hopping off and brushing the sweat off her forehead. She walked over to the twins, Mitts excitedly flying over to the beast keeper and landing on her shoulder. 

“Looks like Team Edric wins!” The man boastfully proclaimed. He had grown to look much like his father since his days at Hexside, which wasn’t helped by his decision to don a goatee much like Alador’s, albeit dark green instead of brown. His sister rolled her eyes with a smirk.

“Please, Mitts didn’t show up until the last stretch.” Emira snarked. “Luz had it in the bag.”

Viney scoffed. “Well gee, thanks for the support.” She said, crossing her arms. Her playful smirk, however, betrayed her. Emira shrugged, walking over to Viney and lightly punching her shoulder. The two had broken up a year into their relationship on amicable terms, such were high school romances.

Although not always, as Luz and Amity were currently demonstrating. “Alright you two, let’s head back inside before I get the crowbar and peel you off each other. The guests are already inside.” Emira continued walking, but stopped dead on her tracks and looked back. The couple were  _ still _ kissing. “Or stay there and merge into one being I guess!”

Amity gave her a side glance, and Emira could’ve sworn she briefly flashed her middle finger. The Clawthornes really had made a number on her sister. Edric chuckled, walking up to his twin. “You’re just mad they’ve been dating for ten years and your last stable relationship was eight years ago.”

“Shut it.” Em said, glaring daggers at her brother. “It’s not my fault all of my exes turned out to be assholes.” The woman quickly turned to Viney, who was walking right behind Edric. “Except you of course.”

Viney shrugged. “Eh, you’re not wrong there.” 

The trio then entered the manor through the porch, which led directly to a ballroom. it was small compared to practically everything in the Blight manor, but it was still evidently created for the aristocracy. In the center laid a large table with an equally big cake, and to the sides several smaller tables filled with snacks and drinks. Gus, Willow and Skara were chatting on a corner, the two women holding hands. Jerbo and Barkus were on another spot of the ballroom, Viney quickly making her way towards them.Finally, leaning against one of the tables full of appetizers was the man behind everything. Alador Fongerhorn.

The years had visibly taken a toll on the man, his previously auburn goatee now half white and his face full of new wrinkles. However, the most radical change was his right arm, or rather the lack of thereof. In its place was an abomination arm made of black goo. Despite everything, he hadn’t looked so alive since his years in Hexside.

“I believe I’m missing a child.” The man said, taking a sip from his cup of grape soul and placing it on the table. Emira shrugged.

“She’s still out there being all gushy with Luz.”

Alador raised an eyebrow. “Jealousy is not a healthy thing, Emira.” He said with a smirk. The woman frowned, throwing her arms up in the air.

“Oh my Titan I am not jealous!” She roared, her face completely red. Edric laughed at his sister’s outburst and Alador chuckled, but he wasn’t done. Oh no, the older man’s golden eyes slowly fixated on his son.

“Speaking of, where is my favorite son in law?”

Edric’s eyes widened, a faint blush in his face. “Dad! We are just  _ dating! _ ”

This time it was Emira’s time to laugh. Edric shot his sister a glare and cleared his throat, turning his attention back to his father. “ _ Anyways _ , Abeltzaina is off working. The slitherbeast they released last year is gonna have pups and his entire team is going crazy about it.”

“I thought you were a member of his team?” Alador asked.

“Well yeah, but I wouldn’t miss Amity’s birthday for anything. Especially after what Luz told us she’s gonna give her…” Edric explained, sharing a knowing smirk with Emira. Alador fondly shook his head as the twins' attention shifted to the porch’s door, Amity and Luz walking in while holding hands.

“Man, I can’t believe it’s been ten years…” A woman said, walking up to him. Alador turned to her, the Owl Lady in person. She really hadn’t changed a bit, although it was probably due to her aging being screwed up by the curse.

“I see you finally made it.” Alador said, giving Eda a smirk. “I thought you were giving Camila a lift?”

Eda shrugged, getting herself some apple blood before walking over to her friend. “Ran into a wild griffin, sorry for the delay. Cam should be here any second now, I dropped her off in Bonesborough, poor woman almost had a heart attack during the chase. She really ain’t used to flying.”

“Well, she is from another realm, you have to give her that.” Alador replied, taking his grape soul coup and taking a sip. He smiled. “But you are right. I really can’t believe it’s been ten years.” The smile dropped, and he sighed. “To think I missed on… All of this, for so long.”

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked to his side he saw Eda, giving him a smile. “Hey, stop beating yourself over that. You ended that, and it’s all that matters.”

The Fongerhorn gave her a lopsided smile. “I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for you.”

Eda simply shrugged, her golden eyes now looking at Luz and Amity, who had gone with Gus, Willow and Skara and were chatting with them. “It should be her who we should be thanking. That kid…” The Clawthorne shook her head. “I don’t even want to imagine where I’d be without her.”

Eda then made to say something but stopped mid sentence. Alador frowned, confused, when the woman suddenly dug into her silver mane and dug out a sleepy King of Demons, who woke up with a “weh!”

“Alright that’s enough sleeping, go off.” She said, dropping the fluffy creature. King let out a yelp, barely managing to fall on his feet.

“How dare you disturb my slumber! I will have you pay for thi-! Oh, is that a cupcake?”

Eda snorted, seeing King ran off. When she looked back at Alador she found the man giving him a puzzled look. “What? I wasn’t gonna let him just spend the entire day in my hair!”

The man simply rolled his eyes, the two witches falling into some friendly chatting, waiting for the remaining guests to show up. Camila was the first to arrive, quickly making her way to her daughter and Amity, giving Amity one of the tightest hugs the witch had ever been given in her life.

Then Bo and Amelia showed up, followed by a few friends Amity had made in the Abominations Coven. After Belos’ defeat, the coven system was retooled as specializations a witch could optionally take instead of being mandatory. Lilith had been named the Empress, which unfortunately meant she couldn’t make it.

The hours sped by, and first thing everyone knew it was time for the present opening. The birthday girl carefully opened each one, thanking the corresponding person. Most were normal stuff like clothes or coupons, with the twins’ being the standout, a pair of mittens that the woman almost tossed at her siblings.

Last but not least, was Luz’s gift. Eda and Alador were standing back, fully aware of what was about to happen.

“Man, I wish Odalia was here to see this. Her meltdown would be legendary.” Eda commented, looking at her apprentice digging through her satchel. Then she noticed Alador’s barely contained grin. “Okay, what did you do?”

“See that chandelier?” The man asked, looking up. Eda followed his gaze, indeed spotting a luxurious chandelier hanging from the ceiling. “The twins put a spell on it. One of the candles is recording everything as an illusion. Odalia will have a nice view of everything from her cell.”

Eda whistled, impressed. “Damn, I love that.” The woman then looked back down at the two younger women, Luz finally having located her gift. It was a small, square box covered in wrapping paper. “Oh boy, here we go.”

Amity eyed the box curiously, a nervous hunch of what it could be. The woman gently teared off the wrapping paper, tossing it on the pile made of the wrapping paper from the other gifts. The small box was pitch black, a golden hinge on its back allowing it to open it two. She could feel her heart about to burst out of her chest.

She was so focused on it that she didn’t notice the lights dimmings, or Luz kneeling in front of her. Amity slowly opened the box, a ring with a bright blue gem with golden accents sitting inside of it. Her eyes were definitely getting watery.

“Amity…” Luz’s voice brought her back to reality, her golden eyes meeting with Luz’s. “I honest to the Titan don’t know what to say that I haven’t told you at some point already.” The human said, letting out a choked up chuckle. “Back in my world I… I was no one. I had given up on the idea of ever finding someone… Then I found you.”

Someone started to cry. They were definitely male voices, and Amity bet it was Gus and Edric. Not that she was doing much better.

“I… I just don’t have the words to describe you, so I’ll just ask you this. Amity Clawthorne, will you ma-”

The woman didn’t have time to finish her sentence, Amity quickly throwing herself on Luz and kissing the human. The guests exploded into cheers as the two shared their kiss, Camila now joining the two boys in their crying.

And hold on a second. “Are you crying?” Eda asked Alador, incredulous. Alador sniffled.

“N-No?” The man answered, wiping a tear off his eye. “I uh- I forgot to clean up some of the dust in the room.”

Eda gave him a smile, looking back at the newly-engaged witches. “Yeah, sure.”

The two finally broke the kiss, if only to take a breath. “I… Didn’t hear… A yes.” Luz said, wiggling her eyebrows with a grin. Amity snorted.

“You’re such a dork.” She managed to choke out with a smile, wiping away some tears. “Of course it’s a yes.”

And as the two shared another kiss with the cheers and sobs of their audience, Alador couldn’t help but smile as a warmth spread through his chest. After all those years of hardship and coldness, after giving up on everything he had ever loved for his family name, his baby daughter, her little sparrow, had found true happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it, the final chapter of Emeralds and Sparrows. Are there some things I am not entirely happy with? Honestly? Yeah, I forgot way too much about King, Willow and Gus but the story really isn't about them. I just... Man, what a journey this has been. When back in August I said "I'm gonna write how I think things will go after Agony of a Witch" I really didn't expect to end up with a series that has taken half a year of my life. I just feel my writing skills have improved a lot, and seeing you guys' comments every morning after publishing always brightened up my day. And speaking of, damn I really didn't expect this to blow up so much. I mean, 790 kudos as of this writing?! Jesus Christ.
> 
> Fun fact, this fic wasn't supposed to be as Alador centric as it ended up being... At all, but then I decided to do an Alador POV on the first chapter and it all just snowballed from there lmao.
> 
> But anyways, this has been an amazing journey and I just... Thank you all for reading! I'll probably start an anthology fic for some one shots taking place during the time skip so this is probs not gonna be the last we see of this version of the characters, this Alador has just grown too much on me to let him go lol. And of course, there's also the siblings AU fic I'm also writing right now so there's that.
> 
> And I guess this is it! Again, a huge thanks to every single one of you lovely peeps, shout out to [Theukon_dos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theukon_dos/pseuds/Theukon_dos), he's writing THREE fics the absolute madlad and honestly is responsible for inspiring some of the scenes in this fic, like the one of Boscha getting petrified in chapter 12. I'd also bet my very soul you know this guy but what the hell, he encouraged me to write Remorse, which led to this. My biggest enabler I think, [levi2207](https://archiveofourown.org/users/levi2207/pseuds/levi2207). Also another enabler for this whole thing AND the one responsible for this fic's description is [StormySkiesAhead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormySkiesAhead/pseuds/StormySkiesAhead), shoutout to her too.
> 
> Until next time!


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